You're not alone
by Loke0
Summary: During death trap, Boba is having a hard time trying to focus on his mission when he starts developing feelings for a certain jedi.
1. Chapter 1

**summary: during death trap, Boba has a hard time trying to focus on his mission when he's distracted by his feelings for a certain jedi**

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Boba strolled behind the other clones as they entered this new, fancy ship. Even though the surroundings were pretty sterile and werent much to see, the others still seemed curious and interested, unlike himself. Maybe he was too concentrated on his little mission- to kill the jedi who murdered his father. Or maybe he simply didnt care. He had seen the insides of many ships before. Having a bounty hunting father meant alot of traveling, so it wasnt something new to him. As they were lead further into the ship, their 'guide' was chattering on about something, but Boba wasnt paying any attention to him or what he was talking about. Instead, he watched the guards lined up along the walls.

Some of them didnt seem to really notice the young clones, while others curiously watched them passing by. However, Boba had to tear his eyes away and keep his gaze on the floor as they walked on, not wanting to see any more copies of his deceased father. It just hurt too much. But his eyes eventually rose again to glance at the group of kids before him. They all seemed so excited and so oblivious to things. It made him feel even more grumpy at the moment, but all the thoughts that had been occupying his mind for the last few minutes were like washed away when the group suddenly came to a stop. And so did he.

The other clones were blocking his vision slightly, so leaning a little to the side, he could spot two men up ahead in the corridor. When realizing that he recognized one of them, his features darkened a little, almost turning into a frown at the sight. It was the jedi who had killed his father. Taken the only person Boba had ever loved and needed, away from him. But he was going to pay. He could never let him get away with this. When the jedi greeted them, Boba forced his features to soften again, to hide his anger and dismay from everyone. He couldnt let those emotions cloud his mind when he was supposed to concentrate on something more important.

"Welcome aboard the jedi cruiser Endurance", Windu started. "I am Mace Windu, and this is-" he made a gesture towards his colleague, but was immediately cut off.

"Anakin Skywalker", the man presented himself, almost sounding excited as he took a step closer to the clones. Boba leaned over again, trying to get a better view of him. He seemed pretty cool for a jedi, not as boring and stiff as he had imagined most of them to be. Like the murderer over there. His eyes narrow and momentarily go to Windu, but as Anakin speaks again, Boba's gaze goes back to him quickly and he curiously pays attention to what he's saying.

"Welcome aboard. Today you'll see how a real working jedi cruiser operates. You'll have the chance to serve right alongside two jedi knights", there's a small smile following Anakin's speech as he looks out over the excited clones. But Boba remains silent and still, with his calm gaze focused on the man, but when the jedi's eyes momentarily meet with his, his whole body stiffens and he turns his gaze somewhere else, realizing that he'd been staring. However, Anakin doesnt get to say anything else before another man comes to inform him that there's a call waiting for him. And with a more serious look on his face, Anakin turns back to the group again.

"Later then..", he says and takes a step back, before both he and Windu turn to walk away. The clones around Boba start to chatter, but he doesnt hear them, or see them. The only thing that his eyes are plastered on is the retreating back of Anakin. That was an interesting jedi. But as their guide interrupts the chattering and they're on their way again, Boba snaps out of his trance like state, realizing that he'd been staring yet again. How embarrassing. Against his will, a small blush spreads over his cheeks as he watches the jedi disappear behind a corner further up ahead. He just couldnt understand where this shyness had come from so suddenly. But he forces those thoughts aside and focuses his mind on the mission. He couldnt allow himself to get distracted. It was just too important. So he follows the others and the calm expression on his face is already replaced by a bitter frown.

Minutes later, they arrived to a new room, which appeared to be a shooting range. That tiny bit of curiosity returned to Boba again as they all lined up along the wall in silence, patiently waiting for instructions from their guide. This might not be so bad after all.

"Alright then", the man passed them to come to stand by the end of the line. "As you can see, this is where you will learn how to handle a gun", he then makes a gesture with his hand, showing them the shooting tracks. Some of the boys looked excited, and others a little nervous, but Boba kept his cool facade, feeling as confident as ever. "There is no need to worry", the guide added when seeing the look on their faces. "I will be here to help you and make sure that you-

"That wont be necessary", a familiar voice interrupted all of a sudden and they all turned their heads towards the entrance of the room. Boba's heart skipped a beat when he spotted the young jedi from before and as the man crossed the room towards them, the footsteps echoed like drums in his head, matching his now very strong heartbeats. But where was Windu? A suspicious frown appeared on his face.

"I will take it from here", Anakin said as he came to a stop next to the guide.

"Yes, general", the man replied quickly and turned again to the young clones. "I will see you later troops. Good luck" and with that said, he left the room.

"Are you ready for your first lesson in becoming real soldier?" Anakin asked the group and they all cheered in response, well, except for Boba, who discreetly glanced at the others, slightly annoyed with their excitement. It was just a shooting range, nothing to get excited about.

"Good", a small smile formed on Anakin's face. "Today I will teach each and everyone of you how to be an excellent marksman. But first of all, lets go through some rules", his face turns a little more severe at this, and he scans the group of clones with serious eyes. "No playing around with the guns. They are not toys, but weapons, and we dont want anyone to get hurt." The boys all watched him back silently, in understanding before he continued. "But dont worry. I will give you clear instructions", he ensured them. There was silence for a short moment.

"Any questions?" Anakin wondered then and the clones glanced at each other as if expecting someone else to come up with a good question. But not Boba, he knew everything he needed to know, so he remained quiet, confident that he would probably do better than any of these guys. A voice broke the silence suddenly and he tore his eyes from Anakin as one of the more cocky clones stepped forward and Boba wrinkled his nose at him.

"Can you kill someone with one single shot?" he wanted to know with a slightly mischievous grin, making a poor attempt at hiding the excitement in his voice, and Anakin was slightly taken aback by the question.

"Yes", he answered truthfully. "It is possible, if you're a good shot", he didnt reveal anything more than that for now. It would be unnecessary information at a time like this. "Anything else you want to ask?" but the clones were quiet and after a few seconds, they all shook their heads no.

"Ok then. Let us begin", Anakin waited for each of them to choose a track. Boba ended up with one of the middle most lanes, and as he picked up the gun to study it, he carefully listened to what Anakin was saying in the background. Not that he thought he needed any instructions. The guns were simple and seemed easy to handle. Perfect weapons for beginners. But still, he followed them like the other clones, taking the safety off and aimed at the old fashioned target by the far wall way ahead of him.

"Everyone ready?" Anakin asked and Boba's eyes moved slightly to glance at the man, but his body remained frozen. He could hear some of the clones replying. "Good. Just aim and do your best", Anakin continued as he slowly walked across the room behind the boys, checking everyone of them. "Take all the time you need." His words were followed by the sound of firing guns as they all tried their luck at shooting. Several cheers and chattering filled the room for a short moment but Boba ignored them, simply watching the hole in the middle of his target as it rolled off and was replaced by a new one.

He doubted any of the others could have had a more perfect result than himself. They had after all, no experience since earlier. While he waited for the new target to place itself where the previous one had been, Boba turned his head to see Anakin helping one of the other boys. In silence, he watched as the jedi tried to change the position of the clone's arms and lowering the gun a little. He couldnt really hear what they were saying but he saw Anakin's lips moving, probably giving the guy some advice.

Boba had been so far up in the clouds that he didnt notice Anakin's eyes meeting with his until it was too late. Damnit. He turned away, pretending that he was busy aiming with his gun, but the jedi eventually came over to him.

"Do you need help?" came that deep, kind voice but Boba didnt break his position.

"Uh...I..", he started, sounding more uncomfortable than he had wanted to show. "I dont.." but before he had the chance to explain himself further, two hands came to grab his arms from behind and he kind of froze and lost his focus as a deep blush started spreading over his cheeks.

"Hold it more like this", Anakin suggested, as he lowered Boba's arms and the weapon a little bit, but Boba had a difficult time doing anything when he felt the jedi's warm breath on his neck and he had to force back a shudder. Eventually, he managed to hold the weapon in place and keep his position. It made him really frustrated that he knew perfectly well how to handle a gun, but couldnt help but screwing up in the presence of this man. However, when Anakin finally retreated a bit, Boba forced himself to relax and to focus on the target in front of him. And just like last time, he managed to hit the middle of it. He wasnt impressed by his own ability to do so, but was very satisfied to know that Anakin had watched him do it.

"That was a very good shot", Anakin had to admit, apparently both impressed and surprised by what he had just seen. But then it could be beginners luck or maybe this boy was a natural. "keep on practicing for a while", he added and gave Boba's shoulder a friendly pat before going away to check on the other clones. Boba wanted to smile but stopped himself from doing so when he noticed one of the clones giving him a mean glance before going back to shooting more aggressively. It didnt intimidate Boba but he frowned at the blond boy, before tearing his eyes off him to aim at his new target. Only moments later, Anakin told them to put their guns aside and follow him to another part of the room. They stopped at a big table where another kind of gun was displayed in a glass container before them, and Anakin turned to them again.

"I'm going to teach you guys how to put together a disassembled gun", he made a gesture to show all the parts lying divided into piles on the table. "I will show you how it's done, and then you get to try", he rounded the corner to the other side so that everyone would have the chance to see what was going on. They all watched in silence as the jedi put different parts together smoothly, like if he hadnt done anything else his whole life.

"It's actually pretty easy", Anakin informed when he was done and he showed them the now finished gun. "As soon as you learn where all the parts go." he put the weapon down on the table again. "Alright then. Lets see what you can do." He stepped aside to allow the clones to access the table and the gun parts. Most of them hurried to get a pile, as if there wasnt enough for everyone, but Boba calmly grabbed what was left for him and started studying the different pieces with great concentration.

This shouldnt be hard, as long as he figured out where all the parts were supposed to be, before he started. If he made a mistake along the way, he might end up with having to take it all apart again and start over. And that wasnt something he had planned on doing.

"I'm stuck, sir", came a miserable voice and it made Boba momentarily raise his gaze from his work to watch one of the clones showing an assembly of a few gun parts, to Anakin. It didnt look very good but the jedi kindly took the object, starting to remove parts. There was a hint of mockery in Boba's eyes as he turned them down again to keep working on his own gun.

"This part goes here", Anakin showed the clone before handing the half finished gun back to the boy. "Now you try." A smug look was plastered on Boba's face as he managed to attach the last part to his gun. Perfect. But his features changed to a neutral expression when looking up at their teacher.

"I'm done, sir", he said simply, as if it wasnt a big deal. And he held it out for Anakin to examine it, while the other clones just stared at him. Some curious and wondering. Others with jealous looks on their faces.

"That's..impressive", Anakin said as he turned the weapon over in his hands. But there was suspicion lingering far back in his mind. How could this boy possibly have the knowledge to do this? However, he didnt let it show. "Very well done", he congratulated then and held the gun up for the others to see. "This is how it's done. I hope you'll all learn from it." He put the weapon aside and Boba felt his chest growing warm of pride and especially from the positive comments he'd received from the jedi. A small smile slowly appeared on his face before he even realized it, but he quickly went back to looking blank again when Anakin turned to face the rest of the group.

"Everyone has done well today", he said. "We are going to move on to your next lesson now, so please put the guns aside and follow me", with this said, he turned to walk back across the room. They all started following him and Boba lingered a little behind as always. Suddenly, someone bumped into his right shoulder while passing him by and a frown appeared on his face when another one did the same thing on his other side. The two clones smirked at Boba as they looked back at him. One of them had been the blond boy who gave him a mean look before. But Boba decided to ignore the two for now and fell into the last place in the line as they exited the room and proceeded out into the hallways again.

They walked in silence all the way to their new destination and a moment later, Anakin stopped them outside yet another room. That's when Boba realized that he should have contacted Aurra and he desperately started going through different options in his mind. He needed to leave for a while, but Anakin would surely notice if he disappeared. Slowly, before the jedi started speaking, Boba reached his hand up, feeling slightly awkward. Luckily, Anakin noticed his try at making contact with him.

"Yes?" those bright blue eyes pierced Boba's and he felt himself almost drowning in the intensive stare. The clones turned as well to look back at him with curious brown eyes.

"Uhm", why did he find it so hard to speak normally when talking to the jedi? He slowly put his arm down again, ignoring the staring eyes of the other boys as his gaze was only on Anakin. "I need to go to the bathroom...sir", he patiently waited as the man seemed to be considering this.

"Just follow that corridor", Anakin pointed down a new hallway. "turn left twice and you should find what you're looking for", a short smile was added but Boba wasnt sure if he should return it or not.

"Thank you, sir", he replied with a quiet voice before turning to walk down the hallway pointed out to him. He looked back every now and then, seeing the group entering the new room with Anakin in the lead. A moment later, he rounded the corner to the left just like he'd been instructed to do, but stopped there, letting his suspicious eyes scan the surroundings. It looked like the coast was clear. Leaning against the wall casually, but still on the watch for possible guards or jedi, he brought his communicator up from deep inside his pocket and contacted Aurra. There was a slight crackling sound before her voice made it through to him.

"Boba, is that you?" he looked around once more before answering.

"It is", he whispered. You could never be too careful.

"I'm sending you the data now", was all that she said and he waited patiently as the device in his hand started sending out low beeping noises. When it finally stopped, he brought it up closer to his mouth.

"Received transmission, Boba out", he whispered before putting the device back into his pocket again. But he remained still for a while as many new thoughts entered his otherwise focused mind. Thoughts of Anakin and how he was taking a big risk by trying to blow Windu up. It would damage the ship and of course, Boba had an escape plan, but he didnt want Anakin to get hurt or to get in trouble because of him. There was a slight hint of regret and angst filling his hard pounding heart. No! He couldnt let those emotions cloud his judgment or distract him one little bit. That was a later problem. Right now, what he needed was to avenge his father and doing so by killing the snobbish jedi who had deprived him of him in the first place.

Boba straightened up a little as he started his way back down the long corridor he came from, trying to look normal and not so out of place. But should anyone wonder why he was out strolling around on his own, he had a good excuse, especially since Anakin had allowed him to go. Anakin...there was no doubt about it...he had definitely fallen in love with the jedi. He didnt need this right now, but what could he do. Suppressing his feelings as much as he could manage to, he continued down the hallway with only the mission in mind.

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**I really like how this first chapter came out. I can definitely see this happening. Please let me know what you thought about it? So I'll know if I should continue this story or not**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you guys so much for reading my story. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too

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When Boba finally arrived to the new room, he entered discreetly, not being the kind of person who liked to make an entrance. The first thing he noticed was that the clones were all gathered around some sort of a chair and...It occurred to him a second later when a projectile was sent hurtling into space before them that this must be target practice. As he approached the group slowly, quietly, he noticed Anakin standing a small distance away, apparently talking to an older man. But he decided it was best to ignore him for now and he came to position himself behind the other clones, watching their poor attempts at hitting the moving targets. The boy who had been shooting let out a defeated, grumpy sound as he got off the chair, leaving it for someone else to try instead and the clone trooper who had been sending out projectiles patiently waited for another boy to take over. But none of them really seemed willing to do so.

"Who's next?" they all turned to watch Anakin walking up to them, in the company of that old man he'd been having a conversation with in the corner. But none of the clones answered.

"Why dont you give it a try, young man", the admiral grabbed the shoulders of one nervous looking boy, carefully giving him a push towards the chair. Boba noticed that it was one of the boys who had pushed him before and he watched with maliciousness sparkling in his eyes as the boy with short, dark hair got seated in the chair. Lets see how well he'll do. Immediately, a new target came flying and the clone pressed the firing button repeatedly until the projectile could no longer be seen by the naked eye. More angry than disappointed, the boy slipped off the chair and returned to the group standing close by.

"Well, that was a nice try, but you certainly need to practice more", Anakin commented. "But then again, it's not easy being newbies. You'll get better once you've got some experience", he added. This time, Boba kind of tried to discreetly avoid the jedi's eyes without looking like he wasnt paying attention. This would prove to be harder than he'd thought.

"He's right", the admiral put in. "Training is no match for experience, and it's the one thing none of you have." Boba turned his attention to the old man, his eyes narrowing a little at this degrading statement. However, none of the people in here could possibly know what he had been up to before he came here. Their eyes locked for a silent moment where the admiral returned Boba's challenging stare.

"I know that look", the man motioned for him to step forward, and so he did. He'd show them. A new projectile was flying off before Boba had even had the chance to get seated, but he quickly took control of the situation, taking his time to aim before firing. And as he had anticipated, he hit the target and it was blown into a million pieces. A smug smile grew on his face when the other clones cheered him on in the background. However, he couldnt hear any of the adults commenting on his successful try, so he took their silence as that they were surprised.

"I see why they call you Lucky", the clone trooper in control of the projectiles spoke. "Well, lets see how you'll handle this." He sent three more targets out, and just like last time, Boba took them all out in no time, making the clones behind him even more impressed, but their cheering was soon interrupted by the admiral. However, Boba didnt really listen to what the man was telling them to do, because the second he got off the chair and turned to face the rest of the group, he spotted Anakin on the other side of the room. He was frozen for a moment, just watching as the jedi seemed to be in a serious conversation with someone. Had he...not seen Boba's great shooting? There was a slight stinging sensation in his chest as he stared at Anakin, and a little bit of anger as well. Damn him for not watching. So all this had just been a waste of energy. He didnt care if he had impressed the clones or the other adults. The only person he wanted to impress was Anakin. The voice of the admiral eventually forced its way into his absent minded brain again, telling them to go to observation deck 30. So he and the other boys obeyed, starting their way over to the door where Anakin patiently waited, not in the company of that other man anymore. When they all reached him, the doors slid open and he exited the room to lead them towards their new destination.

Boba was as always the last in the line and as he was about to step out into the corridor after the others, one of the clones that had been mean to him earlier slipped his hand back and pushed the button to close the door, making it slide shut right in front of Boba. The last thing he saw was the clone and his equally mean friend smirking at him. A deep frown appeared on Boba's face. This was just making him more and more angry and he wanted nothing more right now than to get back at them for all of it, but he couldnt risk the mission in any way. A beeping sound made him turn his attention downwards instead, where a small droid had rolled up to him, looking up at him in an expecting way. In silence, Boba pressed the button to open the doors again and the little robot followed him outside as he caught up with the group again. He glared daggers at the two clones before him, but then threw a suspicious glance at the robot when it rolled up beside him.

"What do you want?" he asked, feeling slightly stupid for talking to a droid. But the robot immediately replied, sending out more of those beeping noises and blinking its little red lamp at him. Not that Boba could understand any of it. Further up ahead, Anakin easily recognized the distant noises of his friend's chattering and couldnt help but turn his head a little to see what was going on. R2 seemed to have taken a liking to the young clone. It made him smile a little, seeing how Boba appeared to be slightly suspicious and confused. Turning back again, Anakin decided to speak up.

"You guys are going to get to try one more thing before we take a break", he informed as they rounded a corner and entered another corridor. The rest of the walk was done pretty much in silence, except for some of the clones' whispering. Boba on the other hand spent this time in deep thoughts. No matter how much he tried to ignore the feelings he had for Anakin, they always came back. His voice, his kind face, his personality. Everything. Boba had come here prepared, very well aware of how hard it could prove to be to complete his mission. Possible complications and unexpected situations. Problems in general. But never had he thought that something like this would come in his way. This wasnt something he would be able to just shake off.

His thoughts were soon interrupted though as they came to a stop outside a new room, where Anakin stayed in the doorway to make sure everyone of them went inside. When it was Boba's turn to pass the jedi, he discreetly glanced up at him and their eyes met shortly. Boba sure hoped the man didnt sense that there was something suspicious about him. Pretending that nothing was wrong, he walked up behind the others and the little droid entered the room as well but kept to the wall. So this seemed to be a flight simulator room. It could actually prove to be fun. The other clones seemed to share his interest in this new challenge.

"I thought you might want to see what flying is like", Anakin sounded a little more enthusiastic as he rounded the group of boys to stop in front of them all, looking out over all the excited faces. However, he noticed how Boba seemed as serious as ever. He wondered slightly what was up with this quiet, mysterious boy. If something was bothering him. Because he could definitely sense something in him, he just couldnt figure out what it was. But that wasnt one of his tasks to find out, only to instruct these young men today.

"So, who wants to start?" everyone of course. Or, almost everyone. Certainly not Boba. He simply waited until he was asked to. In the meantime, he could see how the others were doing. He assumed the controls were working like in most real spacecrafts out there, so there probably wouldnt be any problems for him. Especially since he'd learned how to fly his father's ship. A wave of sadness washed over him at the thought, at the memories but he quickly forced it out of his mind and returned to the present. In the crowd of waving arms, Anakin picked a boy that would have the honor of trying the flight simulator first, and the clone eagerly got seated while Anakin showed him, and everyone else as well, how it worked.

When the simulated ship on the screen took off into the dark, lonely space, it seemed at first like it would be an easy challenge. The player got alot of time to learn how to work the controls and how to steer. But soon, enemy ships started to show up progressively, making it alot harder all of a sudden. And they all watched as the boy tried to handle the situation by swerving out of the firing line. Boba wasnt very impressed but the others cheered the clone on, giving him advice. And while they were busy doing so, Boba discreetly brought his communicator up from his pocket. All this had been taking too much time. The need to execute his plan was growing for every minute and he knew that he didnt have all the time in the world.

There was a strange sensation running through him, as if someone had been staring at him and he turned a little, seeing the droid standing by the far wall. Frozen like a statue, but still looking watchful. Boba stared at it for a few seconds. Why was he feeling so paranoid? It was just a droid...Deciding that it was nothing to worry about, he turned back to watch the big screen again. However, his gaze soon started moving over to Anakin. So slowly that he hardly noticed it himself, watching how the jedi was helping a new clone with the simulator. Time was passing by slowly and Boba was beginning to feel more and more stressed. He had promised Aurra to do this quickly, but it was easier said than done to try to sneak away without someone noticing. Without Anakin noticing he was gone...

When it was finally Boba's turn, he calmly studied the screen as the ship took off.

"Do you remember the controls?" Anakin asked and Boba just gave a short nod, fearing that he would start stuttering if he answered. Not that he could remember ever having done that before, but then again, he'd never been in love before. But as long as Anakin didnt distract him or talked to him, everything would be fine.

The room was silent as they watched the dark space, trying to spot any ships.

Even though the enemies would appear at random places every time the test was started over, it didnt make any difference to Boba. The other clones hadnt really dared to try any extreme moves and werent very good at avoiding assaults, so he was confident that he'd do alot better than all of them.

"There's a ship!" one of the other boys pointed it out for Boba, who had already spotted it on the left side of the screen. Mere seconds after, another one appeared on his right side. Not wasting any more time on just hanging there and being an easy target for his enemies, he swerved out of the way violently, making the ship turn over and roll out of the firing line as he was being shot at. Smoothly and steadily without loosing control of the ship, he straightened it up again and started shooting at the targets, while proceeding forward carefully. But of course the enemy ships wouldnt stay in one place during his little assault. Not that he expected them to anyway. As they changed formation, Boba steered his ship in between them before they could fly too far apart. Using the side cannons he had seen one of the other clones experimenting with before him, he managed to damage both ships at the same time and getting away with it unharmed. However, a third ship soon appeared in the corner of his eye.

"Look out!" another clone yelled to his annoyance and he tried to swerve out of the way again, but this time he wasnt as lucky. He was hit by an immense fire power, which caused the ship to tumble out of control and it was soon on fire. That's when Boba realized he was screwed. He was angry with himself for not having seen that coming.

"That was very well done", Anakin congratulated Boba when the boy got off the chair to face the others. It seemed that this clone would never cease to impress him with his skills and abilities. The other boys appeared to be impressed too, well, except for a couple of sore losers of course. But everyone couldnt be the best.

"I guess you're a natural", Anakin added with an encouraging smile. Because to him, there wasnt any other explanation. Pride swelled in Boba's chest from the praise he received. He knew he would do good and stuff and he wasnt surprised when someone commented on it, but hearing those words from Anakin was different. It really meant alot to him.

"Thank you, sir", Boba replied quietly.

"Alright everyone, lets get going", Anakin showed carefully at the group, urging them on towards the door. "I will be right with you." And he watched them leave the room before turning back to the simulator to turn it off and restore everything to its original. However, he remained there for a little while, confounded as something had distracted him slightly. He had sensed something in that boy again. Something strong. As if a beam of warmth and energy had erupted from the clone and somehow, he felt that it was directed towards him. Being a jedi had its advantages. To be able to sense what others couldnt. But sometimes it really frustrated him when he couldnt figure out what the hell he was actually sensing. Anyway, he decided it was time to return to the clones, who were waiting nicely right outside.

"We will take a break now", he said while closing the door behind him. And they followed him again, further into the ship. As they passed through a corridor decorated with enormous windows on the outer wall, Boba gazed absentmindedly into the dark. So lonely was space. Just like him...It was soon time to do what he came here for and he would make sure that Anakin was nowhere near. He couldnt stand losing his trust, even though this so called trust between him and everyone on this ship was just a lie. He was an infiltrator in disguise.

It might just be his imagination, but he thought it was getting colder in here. Though, it warmed his whole body every time he allowed himself to look at Anakin, watching him walking strong and confident. It was almost like finding himself in some kind of a dreaming state. But that dream was shattered when the group came to a stop by a corner, almost making him stumble into the boy in front of him. Quickly recovering, Boba watched how Anakin turned around to face them.

"Well. I hope it's been an interesting and instructive day for you all. Hopefully I will see you later", he made a short pause. "If not, I wish you good luck with the rest of your training", he added a small smile then. "You are dismissed for now." Alot of the clones were happy to get some rest, while others seemed a bit restless, wanting to learn more cool stuff. So this was it? Maybe it was for the better. If Boba wouldnt see the jedi anymore, all of this wouldnt be so hard anymore. Quietly, without even looking at Anakin, he followed the other clones as they started their way towards the room around the corner. However, he kind of froze there for a moment, right before he allowed himself to disappear behind the corner. His dreamy eyes were plastered on the jedi's back as the man was walking away from them.

Would this be the last time he ever saw Anakin? Probably. Not that it mattered, he supposed. It wasnt like the jedi cared or anything. He would probably forget about Boba as soon as the clones had left the ship. The thought of it made him sad. Stupid emotions. Suddenly, as if Anakin had sensed someone's eyes on him, he slowed down a little and turned to look back down the corridor where Boba was shamelessly staring at him. The moment their eyes met, Boba's widened a little in embarrassment and without looking away, he took a step back and walked around the corner, quickly entering the room.

Anakin had stopped completely now, confounded again by Boba's behavior and he was still staring at the spot where the boy had disappeared behind the corner. For the first time since he had been given the task to show those clones around, he took the time to really try and sort his confused thoughts out. Every clone was of course a unique individual, but this one seemed so different still, special...And the emotions he had picked up from him earlier...Anakin couldnt seem to place them really. But he 'had' caught him staring a couple of times...He decided it was time he left and so he did, but the thoughts running around in his mind kept him occupied all the way back to his quarters.

Boba moved slowly into the big room, his shoulders slumping a bit as he looked around. Well, that had been embarrassing. The jedi must really think he's strange. Luckily, the other clones hadnt been there to watch him make a fool of himself. Restlessly, he watched them studying all the items and weapons displayed on the walls, while some of them took a seat to rest their tired bodies. But Boba couldnt rest. He should get started on his mission. Maybe now that Anakin and all the other adults were gone, and the clones seemed busy with other things, he could sneak away for a while. He thought it over while slowly making his way along one of the walls of the room, eyeing some neat looking guns, and he stopped as a particular one caught his interest.

"Hey, teacher's pet", a mocking voice from behind made him stiffen but right after, a deep frown appeared on his face. He wouldnt reply to that. So instead, he started walking again, but he couldnt seem to shake them off.

"Why so quiet?" a second mocking voice came, but Boba ignored them, refusing to acknowledge their existence. What was their problem? Why did these two waste so much time on teasing him?

"Hey, I asked you a question", the boy with the short, blond hair stepped up in front of him, causing Boba to come to an abrupt halt. Their eyes locked in silence, Boba's furious ones piercing the malicious ones of the other clone. He felt anger rise inside him rapidly. These idiots were really getting on his nerves.

"Leave me alone", he growled and took a step aside to walk pass the annoying boy, but found himself unable to do so as he was pushed in the chest. Shock washed over him when he stumbled back slightly but quickly recovered. That's it! If they wanted a fight, they would get one and Boba didnt hesitate one second to punch the boy's face. A low cracking noise followed and the boy stumbled back with a shriek of pain, holding his bleeding nose. However, anger soon flashed in his eyes and he tried to attack Boba again, whereupon the young bounty hunter moved out of the way. Seeing his chance at revenge, Boba shoved the blond, causing the boy to stumble to the floor.

"You freak!" the other mean boy yelled, jumping at him, knocking them both to the floor. In the background, the other clones had started to notice them fighting, but none of them seemed willing to engage in it.

"Hey! Cut it out!"one of them yelled but neither Boba, nor the two he was fighting cared to listen. When he saw the boy hovering over him raising his fist, he quickly pulled back his leg and kicked the clone right in the stomach, and the boy cried out in pain as he was thrown off and landed on the hard floor where he groaned in pain, holding his aching stomach. Boba got up himself, panting heavily as he watched the two boys whining and tending to their hurting body parts.

"You there!" Boba's heart seemed to stop beating for a second as he spun around to see two clone troopers glaring at him. "What do you think you're doing?" one of them grabbed Boba's arm roughly and pulled him with him out of the room while the other one checked on the two hurt boys. The last thing he saw was the shocked faces of the other clones.

"I think that someone needs to rethink their manners", Boba didnt reply as he was pulled along, back down the corridor, a grim expression plastered on his face. It was unfair. He hadnt started the fight or teased anyone, he had merely defended himself. Minutes later, they arrived down to the brig where cells were lined up on each side of them. Just great...As he was lead into one of them, he could hear the door locking behind him, and the stern voice of the clone trooper reached his ears again.

"Now stay here and think of what you have done", Boba turned slowly to glare at the man before he left. But as the clone trooper left and the echoing footsteps on the cold, hard floor started to fade, Boba's expression softened a little, changing into a more sorrowful one. He had really screwed up now. What if they wouldnt let him out of here anytime today...Time was ticking and he needed to kill Windu. He couldnt decide whether he should contact Aurra or not, because he still had a little time left. Slowly, he strolled over to sit on the bench by the far wall. How could things possibly get any worse now.

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**Phew, I managed to update pretty fast this time. I hope I didnt keep you waiting for too long. please review?  
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	3. Chapter 3

**Mantineus: Thanks alot! I'm glad to hear that and thank you for still reading! I hope you'll like this chapter too**

**Ahsoka33: aw thank you. I'm doing my best to update fast!**

**Murder Junkie: Thank you! Makes me glad that you find it interesting  


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Boba paced back and forth restlessly. He had no idea of how long he'd been in there now, but it was starting to drive him insane. Thoughts of escaping had crossed his mind but that would probably only worsen things. He could almost hear time ticking away slowly in his head. Counting seconds was probably the most fun he could have in here anyway. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps reached his ears and he turned to the door expectantly. So they had finally come to let him out. Well, that was about time, because he couldnt afford to lose anymore time now. And he sure didnt deserve to be locked up like some kind of animal. As soon as he got out of here, he would...Surprise suddenly filled him when the door slid open and Anakin was standing there in front of him. What the hell was he doing here?

"Hey..you're Lucky, right?" Anakin said, but it was more of a statement than a question.

No. "Yes", Boba answered and stepped out of the way when the jedi entered the cell.

"I heard you got into a fight" Boba cringed a little at those words and he watched as Anakin took the liberty to sit down on the only bench in the room. He wouldnt deny that he had beaten those clones up. They got what they deserved, but it did make him look bad in Anakin's eyes.

"Yeah..", he replied honestly and came to sit next to him.

"So what happened?" the question surprised him enough to turn and look at the handsome jedi. No one else had cared to give him any chance to explain, so it was a bit unexpected. Boba turned away again, trying to think of a good answer but ended up staring at the door instead, and a moment passed by in silence.

"They teased me", he admitted eventually, as if it was a good excuse for hitting someone. But Anakin didnt judge Boba. The anger and angst he could sense in him reminded him of how he had so often felt himself, and he worriedly wondered what could be bothering this young clone.

"I see", Anakin replied then. "I know it can be hard to get along with others sometimes." Especially Obiwan. His gaze became unfocused when thinking back to all the times when they had argued. "My master doesnt trust in my skills and abilities very much", he continued and Boba looked up at him at this. "He thinks I screw up too much...", there was silence as Boba didnt really know what to say and also a bit confused as to why the jedi would share this with him.

"Listen", Anakin started again, locking eyes with Boba. "You need to go back to the group. So lets just forget about this little mishap, alright?" Boba nodded quietly and they both got up to leave. He wondered if any of the clones would dare to tease him when he came back. Probably not. Not when they knew what he was capable of. Hell, he was even getting along better with this jedi than with any of the other clones. After having exited the cell, he watched Anakin lock the door behind them and then the man turned around to face him.

"Your friends should be somewhere around section 4. Will you be ok on your own?" Boba wanted to frown. Friends huh? But he ignored that for now and replied politely.

"Yes, sir", he didnt want Anakin to think that he was some sort of a child that couldnt take care of himself. No, he was more than that.

"Well then, good luck with everything. And try to stay out of trouble this time, ok", Anakin said with a small smile, before turning to leave.

"thank you, sir", Boba replied and stared after the jedi for a while before going the other way. He walked a long time in silence, not even letting any thoughts disturb him, but they eventually started invading his mind again. It struck him how understanding Anakin had been. Not at all like most other people he had met recently. It was comforting in a way because no one really understood him. They didnt know who he really was or what he had been through. There was really no one that actually cared for him. And he couldnt let anyone know about his secret either. His heart sunk a little at the thought of Anakin's reaction if he was to find out.

He kept wandering aimlessly for a moment, not sure of where he was going really. Everything looked much the same in this ship. So many corridors and hallways. He rounded another corner but quickly came to a halt as he almost walked right into a couple of clone troopers. The two men seemed to have been in a conversation but became silent as soon as they spotted Boba and they both turned to face him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" one of them demanded, not sounding all too nice.

"Uhh...", Boba stiffened and he just stared at the man at first, and he opened his mouth hesitatingly, about to ask for the directions to section 4, but he stopped as he suddenly realized that this could be his chance to sneak off to Windu's quarters. There couldnt be a more perfect opportunity. Because as long as Anakin thought that he had returned to the group and the group thought that he was still locked up, no one would ever suspect him. Maybe he hadnt screwed up so bad after all. Clearing his throat, Boba opened his mouth to speak again, this time with more confidence.

"I've been dispatched to general Windu's quarters", he said. "There's no problem, sir", The clone trooper that had asked him the question leaned in a little.

"Oh, there's a problem", the man insisted with a harsh tone of voice. "You're lying." Boba's eyes widened a little and his whole body stiffened for a second. Uh oh..but he didnt have the chance to defend himself or even think anything of the situation before the trooper spoke again.

"Admit it. You're lost", Boba just stared at him, still stunned. It wasnt until the other clone trooper spoke that his eyes moved over to him instead.

"Come on. Cut the kid a break", he said, hitting the other man with his gun in a playful manner, and Boba felt life returning to his stiffened body again as he relaxed slightly and discreetly let out a breath that he had been holding. "Windu's quarters are that way", the man added and pointed his gun down the corridor behind them.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir", Boba sneaked away in between them, hurrying down the hallway, as if he was afraid that they would ask him something more. His heart was still pounding hard, like if it wanted to break out of his chest. Oh well, no need to focus on what could have happened. Right now he needed to hurry.

When sneaking down this new corridor, he was more careful in listening after possible guards or other people that might show up. But so far, no one seemed to be around. He arrived to Windu's quarters a minute later and he took one more look around before pushing the button to open the door. It was very dark in there and he carefully stepped over the threshold, studying the insides curiously. Not much to see in there. Turning back to the entrance of the room, he dug his hand into one of his pockets, bringing up a small laser trip mine from its depths. Very carefully, he crouched down and placed it on the wall, right beside the door opening and entered a code to activate it. Once it was done, he raised and peeked outside. Still no one in sight, so he exited the room and closed the door while bringing up another small device from his pocket. Now he just needed to find the group for real, then he would be out of here in no time...

The emotional chaos that suddenly filled him clearly showed in his features as he wandered back down the corridor. He wouldnt see Anakin again. The memory of those blue friendly eyes and that heart warming smile that he would never experience again made him realize how lonely he really was. A frown appeared on his face when realizing that his thoughts had again drifted off to an unimportant matter, and he decided to forget about the jedi for now. So he laid his eyes on the small device in his hand. Time to activate the laser beam that would cause the trip mine to explode as soon as that awful Mace Windu placed his foot inside his quarters. And so Boba activated it. Now all he needed to do was to wait.

He reached the end of the corridor and was about to enter a new one when he ended up walking into someone yet again. He stumbled back slightly and to his surprise he noticed that it was Windu.

"Eyes on where you're heading, cadet", he said with a stern voice.

"Yes, sir", Boba replied in the same manner he always did when answering to a person of higher rank. "Sorry sir", he quickly passed the man and kept going down the corridor, not looking back. He started to run now, as he didnt want people to wonder where he had been when the mine exploded. It almost gave him a minor shock when he reached the end of the hallway and spotted his fellow clones walking by in another corridor. That guide from before seemed to have taken over the group again and Boba quietly sneaked up behind them and fell into the last spot in the line. No one seemed to have noticed his presence yet. As they walked on in silence, he started wondering where they were really going. Probably to try something new, but it didnt take long before an ear-piercing alarm went off and the corridor bathed in a red blinking light.

The whole group was alerted by this and they all came to a stop. The rest of the boys looked around worriedly, wondering what was going on, but Boba remained still and calm, knowing exactly what was going on. The mine had exploded, the mission was completed and that stupid jedi had finally got what he deserved. They watched as a few clone troopers ran by and the guide turned to the cadets with a severe expression on his face.

"No time for chatter, there's been an explosion", the man informed them and Boba tried to hide his satisfied smile as they were ordered to line up, but they didnt go far this time either, before more clone troopers appeared. One of them stopped in front of the group.

"Status report, trooper. The ship's undamaged. One man down. General Windu's quarters got hit, but he survived", the soldier informed them. Boba couldnt believe it. He just couldnt believe it. Had the jedi really survived?...How was it possible? He was momentarily stunned by these shocking news. What the hell was he going to do now? The trooper that lead them wanted them to keep going but Boba had other plans. He was going to contact Aurra. That was what he had to do. So sneaking away yet again, he started running back the way they came, desperately looking for a less crowded place where he could communicate in privacy. When he finally found one, he brought his communicator up and activated it, sounding everything but calm when speaking.

"This is Boba", he whispered, still looking around, aware of that anyone could be passing by this particular spot anytime. "It's a mess! Repeat, mess! What should I do?" he became silent as he heard Aurra's voice coming through to him.

"What took you so long?" she sounded irritated and Boba swallowed, not in the mood to talk about it really.

"I...ran into some problems...", he admitted. Part of it was true anyway.

"No kidding..." she sighed. "Anyway. Head to the reactor and blow the core", Boba was confused at first, before realizing where she was going with this.

"But the crew. It isnt about them. Just Mace", he didnt want to hurt anyone else in this ship. Especially not Anakin.

"If you want Windu dead, do as I say!", he frowned at her harsh words, not liking the sound of this idea, but he figured he had to do it. He needed to make sure that the jedi was dead before he left. It was more important than anything else. It was with a heavy heart that he deactivated his communicator and kept going, in search for the reactor. All he had wanted was revenge, not to hurt innocent people. This really had turned out to be a hard task.

Luckily, it wasnt as hard as he had thought it would be to find the way to his goal as most of the doors were provided with a sign, showing where they were leading. Boba pondered on how huge this place really was when walking down the lonely road to the reactor. Strange that no one was standing guard here. But everyone was probably busy with finding the intruder. As the core soon became visible to him, in the middle of the place, he started running towards it. No time to lose.

"Hey! You there", a voice made him slow down, almost stumbling as he came to a stop. He hadnt expected any clone troopers to still be down here. "Come here", the man walked up to him and Boba had been caught off guard at first but quick thinking as he was, he immediately came up with an explanation.

"I got lost, sir", he insisted before the man could ask him what he was doing here. And the trooper sighed.

"The ship is on full lock down, son."

"Yes, sir. I know, I just...", Boba started but stopped himself. "I'll return to my company", he added then, thinking that there probably wouldnt be any problem.

"Not alone you wont", the clone trooper said with emphasis. "I'm calling a trooper to escort you out of here", as the man contacted someone, Boba was already thinking of a new plan. His eyes went to the gun in the man's hand.

"Is that a DC fifteen eight?" he asked without taking his eyes off the weapon, and the soldier turned to him again.

"Oh, yeah. Here", he offered it to Boba. "Keep the safety on", he then turned his back to him again to resume the conversation with the person on the other end of the line. Boba gladly took the gun and a cunning smirk appeared on his face as he watched the man. No one could interfere with his mission. He wouldnt screw up a second time. Taking aim, Boba swung the big gun at the clone trooper's head, making the man stumble slightly. And the confusion and shock that stunned the man momentarily, gave Boba a chance to hit him again, this time knocking the helmet off and causing the man to fall to the ground. Boba wasnt late to point the gun in his face.

"What are you doing?" the clone trooper exclaimed, turning his face towards his attacker and Boba froze in position, his widened eyes locked with the ones before him. That face...He felt a sharp sting in his chest, as if an arrow had pierced his heart. And a pain that he hadnt felt for some time now, returned to fill his whole being. It was the face of his father...

"We're brothers! Dont shoot!" the man exclaimed again but the sorrow that had momentarily displayed in Boba's eyes was now gone and something dark glistened in them when they narrowed.

"You're not my brother", he growled quietly.

"Dont shoot!" the clone tried to convince him not to do it, but Boba had no intentions to let him go.

"Dont worry", he replied, but didnt get the chance to say anything else before his leg was ruthlessly kicked, causing him to fall to the floor. Pain coursed through his back when it connected with the hard surface but he still held on tightly to the gun. Just in time, he opened his eyes to see the trooper running towards him and with the little strength he could gather from his position on the floor, he brought the gun up and fired. The man fell to the floor unmoving, however, he seemed to still be breathing. There was a slight sting of regret decorating Boba's features when he pulled himself up to stand again, but quickly made sure to forget about it and focus on what needed to be done.

Using the gun, he started destroying as much of the core as he could manage. In the background, a cracking sound came from the clone trooper's communicator and a voice came through, wondering why the conversation had been interrupted. Boba knew he had to get out of here fast, but he made sure to fire a few shots at the reactor towers surrounding the core, as well, before taking off again. The sound of the explosion reached his ears soon after he had left the place. He realized that there was just a small chance that Windu would get killed in all this chaos, but there was nothing more he could do now. No matter how frustrating it was, he had to leave this ship and find another opportunity. Another time.

He was now running aimlessly through the lone corridors, with only the sound of the alarm keeping him company. Where could everyone be? He hadnt seen one single person since he left the reactor, nor had he heard anyone. He eventually had to admit to himself that he was actually lost this time. For real.

In another part of the ship, Anakin and Windu were watching the damaged reactor, seeing how it was all falling apart. The explosion had caused great damage to the ship and it needed to be evacuated, and fast.

"We need to get everyone out of here", Anakin urged but Windu seemed to be in deep thoughts. Instead, he turned his attention down to his little droid friend. "R2, prep the fighters. We're ready to take off", as he looked up again and watched the burning inferno before them, he started wondering who could have really done this and where the hell this person was now. It was quite a mystery.

In yet another part of the ship, the rest of the cadets are lead towards the escape pods and they begin to fill them up as their leader count them all. Surprise and confusion shows on the man's face as he realizes that there are only seven of them. So he counts them again but still, the number is the same. He had lost one of the boys. This was bad. Really bad.

"Everyone, wait here", he told them and without telling them where he was going, he took off in search for someone that could help him.

Anakin and Windu walked side by side as they left the reactor. They were heading to the bridge to speak to the admiral.

"The intruder cant just disappear...He has to be on the ship still. There have been no other ships where he could have come from or escaped to..", Anakin said in frustration, but he was more or less talking to himself, trying to figure out how this all made sense.

"We cant worry about that anymore", Windu replied with a calmer voice. "He wont be able to escape with us. That's for sure", this made Anakin even more thoughtful if possible but he didnt have any time to think it over anymore before a trooper appeared before them and they both stopped walking. It was the man who had been taking care of the cadets and he seemed all but calm.

"General, one of the cadets are missing", he panted and studied both jedi with an expecting gaze. "What should I do?" Anakin opened his mouth but quickly closed it again as he came to realize something. What if it was Lucky, who he sent to go back to his group. What if he had been lost all this time? Maybe he never made it back to the others. Anakin immediately blamed himself for having been so careless. The cadet could be anywhere on this big ship. He opened his mouth again and this time to really reply but Windu was first to answer to the nervous man's question.

"Take the cadets and leave. We will take care of the problem", the trooper seemed a bit relieved at this.

"Thank you, general. I hope he isnt hurt", he then left as soon as he had appeared, and Anakin's features darkened a little when watching the man hurrying down the hallway, coming to a decision.

"You go to the admiral", Anakin said, turning his serious gaze to Windu. "I will find the lost cadet", the determination in his voice was hard to argue with and Windu seemed to think it over for a moment.

"Someone's got to do it", the older jedi agreed and Anakin was already on his way when the faint voice of Windu reached his ears, telling him to be careful.

Boba was almost beginning to feel worried by now. He still hadnt found a living soul and smoke was beginning to spread through the hallways and coming out of the ventilations. He sure hoped that everyone hadnt abandoned the ship already. Following the few signs that he could find, he eventually managed to find one of the rooms with escape pods. But the relief that washed over him when he first stepped into it after all this time of searching, quickly faded when seeing that all the pods were gone. Every single one of them. Quickly, he ran out again and into the next room, but stopped as soon as he had entered. Everyone was gone.

He stood there in silence for a while as hope was slowly leaving him. Very soon, this whole ship would blow up completely and he didnt want to still be here when it happened, so turning on his heels, he ran out of the room and down a new corridor. Maybe he should try to find the bridge. If someone was still aboard, the only options he could think of besides the rooms for the escape pods, was the bridge. A low rumbling sound could be heard from somewhere deep inside the ship and the floor trembled once but Boba kept running, even though his lungs hurt like hell.

After some time, he just had to stop and catch his breath. Hopefully Aurra would come to pick him up soon and hopefully she would find him before it was too late. A loud explosion rocked the whole ship suddenly and Boba had to struggle to stay on his feet. So this was the bitter end? Blown up in a damn jedi cruiser. He lowered his eyes to the trembling floor then, feeling how the air around him was progressively getting warmer and warmer. Maybe it wouldnt be so bad after all...His father was dead anyway...What was the reason for him to stay alive?

He took notice of a sudden movement in the corner of his eye and slowly ran his gaze back down the corridor. The shock that filled him couldnt be expressed in words as he turned completely, seeing Anakin standing by the end of the hallway. An emotional mix of relief, happiness and surprise filled his heart so fast that it felt like it would burst open any second and he watched as the man made his way towards him, appearing to be relieved as well.

"Lucky!" Anakin called as he ran over to him. "I've been looking all over for you", he breathed when coming to a stop. This little announcement filled Boba with warmth but he didnt show it on the outside.

"I got lost", he said simply, hoping that the jedi would buy it. At least he had been lost for the last minutes or so.

"I figured so", Anakin replied and looked around them once with a serious gaze, smelling the scent of burnt material. "We need to get out of here. The ship is going to blow", he turned back to Boba, who nodded seriously in return. Without another word, Anakin grabbed Boba's hand in his and they ran back the way he had come when he'd been looking for him.

"The other cadets have evacuated already", Anakin told him as they ran through the hallways. "You'll have to come with me", Boba didnt say anything in return but he thought it was a good idea none the less. This whole trip had taken a very unexpected turn and even though he liked where it was now going, he still worried about the consequences. What about his original plan? What about Aurra?

Soon, they reached their destination and Boba was lead into a big hangar room where a few smaller ships were stationed. Cold filled him when Anakin's warm hand slipped from his and the jedi ran up to one of the ships.

"R2? Where are you?" Anakin called for his friend as he stepped up the ramp of the ship and went inside. Boba had followed in silence and he entered as well. It was slightly dark in there and he looked around curiously, still following close behind the jedi. A low beeping sound reached their ears and soon R2D2 came into view, happily rolling up to them

"There you are", Anakin said with a satisfied smile and the little droid blinked its red lamp at them before rolling further into the ship. Boba noticed that it was the robot from before. The one that had been following him. "Lets get out of here."

Boba remained silently by the entrance, watching as Anakin disappeared further into the ship. Slowly, he turned back to look out into the hangar and into the dark damaged corridors far away. He couldnt help but wonder where this all would end, but strangely enough, he had a feeling that things would be alright. And so, he went further into the ship to join the jedi and his droid.

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**This chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones. Which isnt a bad thing at all, but I wasnt expecting it to be so long. Anyway, I hope you liked it. I'm going to start working on a new chapter very soon and I'll try to update as fast as I can. Thank you all again for reading**


	4. Chapter 4

**Murder junkie: Thank you! I've got some really fun ideas to work on. And yea, it is strange that Boba and Anakin change to drastically. I cant see vader or old boba as the same characters they are in the prequel movies.  
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**Mantineus: Yea, I think it's going to be a little harder now that the chapters arent based on any episodes anymore, but at the same time it's alot of fun. and thank you again for your support. I want to make the chapters as interesting as possible, so I make sure that I take my time to think them through.

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Anakin acknowledged Boba's presence when the boy came to claim the passenger seat on his right side, but remained silent as he was busy with starting the ship's engines and making sure that they got the hell out of here as soon as possible. The door to the ship slowly closed and the lights came on in there as everything was starting up. Boba noticed that the little droid seem to be helping out here and there too. It seemed strangely social and friendly for being a robot. But he turned his gaze elsewhere soon, landing it on Anakin for a moment and then to stare out through the thick windshield before them, his eyes a little unfocused.

It wasnt without complications that their ship sank into the small opening bellow. And Endurance was rocking and vibrating, causing it to scrape their sides slightly, but like the great pilot that Anakin was, he managed to smoothly get them out eventually.

"Ok, here we go", his concentrated voice broke the silence and they both watched the ship above them tremble and shake the second before they flew off. Worried about the people that were still on board Endurance, Anakin couldnt help but throw a glance behind them while pushing their ship to its limits to be able to escape the explosion that would eventually come. You didnt need to be a jedi to sense the remorse in Anakin and Boba bowed his head slightly, knowing that it was his fault that Anakin's friends were in danger. He alone was responsible for their probable deaths. He knew that you couldnt involve your emotions in missions, but he hadnt wanted it to come to this. The only person he had wanted to kill was Windu. Not to hurt innocents.

Suddenly, there was another explosion behind them and as the shock wave reached them seconds later, it shook the ship violently, almost throwing them off their chairs in the process. But luckily they managed to hang onto them, unlike poor R2 who fell over and rolled down the aisle between the cockpit and the rest of the ship. But the stubborn little droid was soon on its feet again. At least they were out of the danger soon now, but Anakin prayed that the people left on board Endurance were still safe. Though, he decided to push his worries aside as he couldnt do anything to help them now anyway. Instead, he turned his attention to Boba next to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, while scanning the boy with his eyes in a try to see if he'd gotten hurt when the shock wave hit them. Boba nodded once before looking up to meet Anakin's eyes.

"I'm fine, sir", he said with a calm yet confident voice and the jedi seemed satisfied with this answer.

"Good", the dead silence that followed almost seemed unnatural due to the chaos that they had recently been through and there was hardly a sound in there. Just them and the lonely, open space. Boba turned to study Anakin discreetly as the man was driving the ship in a relaxed, smooth way that clearly showed that he was used to what he was doing. It kind of made him miss Slave 1 for a moment. It was one of the few things that used to belong to his father, that he was still in possession of. Something that he could still cling on to. Something that reminded him of Jango and made him feel less lonely. As if a part of him was still there with him.

When Boba's mind returned to reality again, his eyes were still plastered on Anakin and he realized how strange it was to be here with him, and also how lucky he was that he didnt go down with the ship. That he'd escaped the burning inferno back there. Jedi truly had to be noble people if they would risk their own lives to come back and save one single, insignificant person. Clearing his throat a little, he turned his gaze to look out through the big windshield instead.

"Why did you come back for me?" he wondered with an oblivious, quiet tone of voice. Had they stayed on the ship for five more minutes, they might not have survived. The jedi had practically risked his own life to run back inside and look for him. It was with a slightly confused expression that Anakin faced him.

"Hey...I leave no one behind", the jedi replied with emphasis and his serious eyes remained on Boba for a few extra seconds before turning away as if he had just realized something.

"I need to contact Endurance", he said then and he quickly started tapping in the frequency for the cruiser. If it was still working that is...The other ship might be too damaged at this point. Boba became slightly more alert at this announcement and he impatiently wondered if Windu was still alive. He sure hoped not. A crackling noise filled the cockpit and they both listened in tension, trying to make out any sounds that would confirm that the signal had reached all the way through.

"This is Anakin Skywalker contacting Endurance. Is anybody there?" a tense silence followed as they awaited the reply but none seemed to come. Maybe they were already dead. However, that option was soon shattered as Anakin opened his mouth to try again, when something suddenly came through to them and interrupted him.

"Skywalker? So you made it out", came Mace Windu's steady voice, to Anakin's relief, but Boba was all but relieved. Both disappointment and anger washed over him at this. Why wouldnt the damn jedi die? As soon as he realized that his dissatisfaction showed in his features, he was quick to hide it.

"Yes", Anakin answered his colleague. "We're on ship F29. Is everyone alright over there?" he added the question in a more serious tone. As the two jedi were having a conversation, R2D2 came rolling up to them and stopped between the chairs, spinning his upper part around to study Anakin. Another crackling noise erupted from the communicator before Windu's voice came through again.

"Yes, but the admiral is refusing to leave the ship. However, I'm on my way out of here now", Windu made a pause. "Did you find the lost cadet?" he wanted to know and Boba's eyes met with Anakin's for a second.

"I did. He's here with me", the younger jedi replied and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face as he let his intensive gaze wander away over the darkness outside. "Will someone pick up the other cadets from the escape pods?" oh yeah...the other clones..Boba didnt give it much thought though. He figured they would be alright. But something else came to occupy his mind instead and he started to worry about the possibility of Aurra wanting to pick him up, like they had decided on. But it was a really bad time to do that now and Boba thought it best to contact her later when no one was around. He just knew that she would cause trouble for him if she showed up now and found him together with the jedi. His features darkened a little. She would probably want to hand Anakin over to Dooku also, but Boba wouldnt let that happen. His eyes landed on the jedi for a moment. Then again, Anakin could probably defend himself pretty good. He was mostly worrying about Aurra ruining everything between them.

Suddenly, Boba's thoughts were interrupted by the little droid as it started spinning again and this time it stopped to stare at him instead of its master. A silent gaze was exchanged between them, and he curiously wondered how much intelligence it was really hiding behind that metallic surface.

"Dont worry about it", Windu replied between crackling sounds but they managed to make out what he was saying. "Just concentrate on getting the two of you back to the temple. We'll take care of the rest", Boba's attention to the conversation was slowly fading as he was watching R2's strange behavior. He had no idea what it wanted. Carefully lifting his arm a little, he slowly waved his hand in front of the robot and like he had anticipated the upper part of its body rotated, following every move. It brought a small smile to his lips.

"Alright", Anakin replied to Windu's last words with a softer voice, feeling a bit more calm now that everyone seemed to be alright. "Just get out of there and I'll see you back at the temple", a crackling sound followed shortly and then everything was silent again. When Anakin reached out to close the connection to Endurance, he caught a movement in the corner of his eye and was met with a quite amusing sight. The corner of his mouth curved upwards a little as he watched Boba "playing" with R2D2, who seemed to be curious at who this new person was that Anakin had brought with him. When Boba carefully lowered his hand to place it on top of the robot, as if to pat it, it gave off a long beeping sound and a little shake, causing the boy to remove his hand again in surprise. Anakin's smile changed into a grin as he watched the droid rolling away again.

"That's R2", he explained and threw a glance outside before looking back at Boba. "He seems to like you", he smiled and the corner of Boba's mouth twitched a little as if he made a failed attempt to return it. He just couldnt help but feel so limp every time those blue eyes met with his and it made him sad that he liked him so much. That he liked a jedi. Because he was a bounty hunter by heart and he wasnt supposed to feel this way about an enemy. But he wouldnt deny that he felt better in Anakin's presence. Safer.

Anakin had turned back to concentrate on flying the ship again. However, there was something more that he was concentrating on in the meantime. Those strong emotions were there again, hovering around his head like a cloud of smoke but he remained exactly the same on the outside, pretending like he hadnt noticed anything. It was the same emotions that he had sensed back on Endurance.

Boba licked his dry lips while looking for a possible Slave 1 out there, and then opened his mouth to speak.

"Sir..?" he wanted to make sure that he had Anakin's attention before continuing. "Where are we going now?" It took a few seconds before the reply finally came as Anakin was still confounded by these warm emotions erupting from Boba like beams from the a sun, but he snapped out of it and cleared his dry throat.

"We're going to Coruscant", he said without taking his eyes off the windshield. "To the jedi temple", and with that said, he took them into hyperspace. In silence, Boba watched all the stars flashing by, thinking of how far away Coruscant was. Far away from home, but then he wasnt sure where his home was anymore.

The ship jerked suddenly, pulling him out of his deep thoughts. What now? He looked at Anakin for answers, but the jedi seemed as confused as him. The blurry tunnel of light that they had been traveling through was now slowly transforming back into a dark empty space with stars glistening far away in the distance, as the ship was progressively slowing down. The confounded expression on Anakin's face soon changed into a bitter one when he realized that the ship wasnt responding to anything that he did. It didnt even suggest that something was wrong.

"Shit..", he hissed under his breath and pushed away from the dashboard in anger. Everything just had to go wrong today.

"What happened?" Boba asked with a frown and he glanced around the cockpit once before landing his eyes on Anakin again, who's gaze softened a little when their eyes met.

"I dont know..", he admitted and then looked outside with a bitter expression. "We failed to enter hyperspace", the ship had now stopped completely, and it was just hovering there like a piece of junk. "Something might have been damaged when the shock wave hit us...", he bit his bottom lip thoughtfully.

"I'm going to check the rest of the ship", he said then and got up from his chair, determined to fix this problem. If the ship couldnt find what was wrong, he would. Boba got up as well to follow. A part of him hoped that they would be able to get out of this mess soon, while another part couldnt enjoy the situation more. Being alone with Anakin wasnt something that he would say no to.

"R2, see if the dashboard can be fixed", the jedi told the little droid when it came rolling up to them from somewhere deeper in the ship and Boba quietly stepped out of the way as it rolled past them and further into the cockpit, where it proceeded with popping open a small slot in its body. A little mechanical arm was then extracted and driven into a slot on the side of the dashboard. Realizing that Anakin had already left, Boba hurried to catch up with him again and they both came to a stop in the middle of the next room. There was hardly anything in there. Just bare, white walls and boxes with supplies. His intensive gaze lingered on the jedi's back as the man took a walk around the room, checking every little corner for damages, but found none.

"Everything seems intact", Anakin said quietly and his hand slowly slipped off the wall to come and rest on his stiff neck, thoughtfully rubbing at it.

"Sir", Boba began and his serious eyes pierced Anakin's. "Maybe we should call for help?"

"Yeah, we-", the jedi started but became quiet, as if his voice had died in the middle of a sentence. He inhaled deeply, slowly through his nose. The air...it was thickening. Or was it just his imagination? Boba's wondering eyes studied him as he turned back towards him.

"I think there's something wrong with the life support system", Anakin said seriously as he marched back across the room and past Boba. "We might be in some real trouble if we dont get out of here soon", they both entered the cockpit again to find that R2 seemed to have given up his attempts at fixing the problem and as soon as he spotted them he started telling them of his discoveries. Boba watched sceptically as the jedi listened to the beeping noises that erupted from the little droid. Then Anakin let out a long, frustrated sigh.

"So we're stuck here", he sounded almost absentminded and the robot let out a long sad whistle. "Thanks R2..", he then walked over to the chairs and sat down in the drivers seat, while Boba claimed the other chair.

"I hope the comm. system is still working", Anakin started tapping in the right frequency and Boba spun his chair around slightly to be able to face the jedi better.

"What did you mean there's something wrong with the life support system?" he wanted to know. "sir...", he added when realizing he'd forgotten to. Anakin paused to look at him shortly and the softness in his eyes was now replaced by nothing but seriousness.

"The air..", he said simply. "It's stifling", their eye contact was broken as Boba looked around the room hesitatingly. Now that he took some time to think about it, to feel, he actually noticed a change in the air. It was a bit cold as well, but he wasnt sure if it had anything to do with the malfunctioning system.

"There should always be enough air to last for days", Anakin added as he continued with the try to get in contact with someone. But as he expected, nothing happened. It didnt even give off any crackling sounds. "Damn...", when the jedi brought his communicator up from a pocket in his robe, it struck Boba that he had one of his own but he was very careful not to let Anakin see him picking it up. He just barely let it slip out of his pants pocket to throw a glance at it. It seemed as dead as everything else inside this ship. At the sound of the jedi's voice, he quickly let it go back into the pocket.

"This is worse than I thought..", Anakin sighed, a little strained as the amount of air he wished to inhale didnt really seem to come through. It made him even more irritated. Boba was feeling it too and he found himself concentrating more and more on breathing as if he was trying to get as much air into his lungs as possible before it was all used up. Without really realizing it, his hands were tightening around the arm rests on each side of him and he glanced sideways at Anakin, allowing a little bit of anxiety to enter him.

"What are we going to do?" he asked and watched as the man exhaled slowly, looking like if he was unwillingly letting the air out again.

"We're going to stay calm", Anakin replied. "We dont want to waste any air", he wasnt going to give up. There had to be something they could do, but he was actually beginning to worry now, though he wouldnt let it show. Someone would come for them, he was confident in that. Someone just had to.

"I suggest that we rest for a bit, ok?" Boba nodded slowly in response.

"Yes, sir", he added. There was something strong and confident shining through behind those beautiful blue eyes, and it kind of made him believe that they would be alright. Even so, he couldnt help but wonder how much time they had left. Anakin raised from his chair suddenly, telling Boba to stay where he was, ensuring him that he'd be right back. And without another word, he was left alone in the cockpit. As the silence was soon starting to get to Boba, he pushed his stiff body up from the chair and began walking around the room in a try to regain some warmth in his slightly cold limbs. Ignoring the feeling of how his lungs seemed to shrink a little, as if something was pushing them together from the outside, he placed a hand on one of the ice cold windows and gazed outside. Nothing but dark, unforgiving space in sight. He wondered vaguely if Aurra was looking for him at this very moment. Maybe They saw the ship explode and thought he'd gone down with it. It would make sense he supposed...since his communicator wasnt responsive anymore...

"There's nothing we can do", Anakin's voice came so suddenly that it caused Boba to jump slightly but he quickly recovered from the surprise and turned to face the jedi. "But dont worry. They will come looking for us", he comforted Boba with this as he convinced himself that there was no reason to worry. The air seemed to progressively disappear at a slow rate so they werent in the danger zone yet. The only thing that made him nervous was how the lack of air could affect the brain and lungs. Even the nervous system. And most importantly, his judgment.

"Come on", a warm hand came to gently push Boba back towards the chairs, causing a shiver to run down his spine and they both dropped down in their respective chairs tiredly. Anakin was absentmindedly resting his head against the palm of his hand. Ideas and the options they had, he was running them through his mind over and over, desperate for a solution to their problem. He knew the things he came up with werent really possible, but he couldnt just let them go. Though it was hard to concentrate. Hard to think and as his head started pounding with pain, he closed his eyes for a while, but the look on his face was all but peaceful. The air was getting worse for every minute that was passing by. He just hoped that it would last until they got rescued.

After what felt like an eternity, a sudden rumbling noise caused him to force his eyes open to focus on Boba, who seemed as surprised as he was, even though it was his stomach it had erupted from. Realization came a second later and Boba moved his hand down to his stomach, letting it rest there. He couldnt remember how many hours had passed by since he last ate. All he knew was that they were many.

"Hungry?" Anakin asked and came to the conclusion that he was in need of some food too.

"Yes, sir", Boba replied and pushed himself up to sit a little more straight. He felt tired as well, and a little dizzy maybe. Must be the air. He watched Anakin get up and slowly followed his example. Suffocating, what a horrible way to die, he thought as he walked up to the spot where the jedi was waiting for him.

"At least the food should be alright", Anakin said with a hint of relief in his voice as he lead the way out of the cockpit and into the aisle towards the rest of the ship. However, they both stopped dead in their tracks when a crackling noise reached their ears and Anakin turned slowly to look back into the room they had just left. The sound of a broken voice could be heard suddenly, in between the noises and he hurried back to the dashboard with Boba close behind. It was the voice of a woman.

"Maste-Are y-there-?", a series of crackling noises followed and Anakin's tired eyes widened slightly as he pushed the button to open the line back to wherever his padawan could be.

"Ahsoka?" he exclaimed and they listened carefully.

"Where-re you?-thought-yo-would've been bac-y now", her worried voice came again between the crackling. Boba looked from the dashboard and to Anakin, hoping that this meant that someone was coming to get them soon. Curious to see what was going on, R2 had come rolling into the room with them and was now watching them from a distance.

"An-kin-please respo-d", this time however, it was Obi-wan's voice coming through to them.

"Master?" Anakin waited a couple of seconds. "We're stuck out here. The ship's malfunctioning and we-" he was cut off suddenly as Ahsoka rejoined the conversation.

"Mas-r Anakin?-ans-er me", Boba's hopes of getting out of here began to slowly leave him when he realized the problem and Anakin was standing like frozen as the two voices from the other side started talking to each other instead.

"They cant hear us...", Anakin breathed as he kept staring at the source of the sounds and voices and his features slowly changed into a grim expression. "Damn..", he angrily pushed away from the dashboard. It wouldnt be easy for anyone to find them out here without co-ordinates. They could only pray that they would get out of there in time.

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**not much going on in this chapter, but I wanted to save most of the fun for the next one. I promise there will be more action. And a little something that I think you'd very much enjoy to read**


	5. Chapter 5

**Mantineus**: **thanks xD I sure hope so**

**Murder junkie: thank you ^^ lets hope they survive then

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They ate in silence as Anakin was both irritated and frustrated that they were so helpless and he kept staring out into space while absentmindedly sucking on the straw from his little package of liquefied food. Boba glanced at him every now and then but Anakin didnt seem to take any notice of it. He thought that maybe the jedi needed to be alone for a while, so he gathered everything that was left of his meal and got up from the chair. Anakin's eyes landed on him for a couple of seconds before he walked away and disappeared out of sight. When Boba had gotten rid of the leftovers, he looked around the area thoughtfully. What to do, what to do. Take it easy and not waste any air. It was top priority.

He peeked inside the cockpit once to see that Anakin was still sitting in there. He felt sorry for him and there was a slight urge to go over there and...well, he didnt know what he would say or do to possibly get the jedi into a better mood, so he thought it best to leave him alone for some time. Wandering around aimlessly, he started noticing how tired he really was. How his whole body felt as if it hadnt been resting for days. Must be the air, he decided and stepped inside the room that Anakin had examined earlier. Sitting down on a supply box right inside the doorway, he gazed back down the corridor. He could still see parts of the cockpit from there.

A feeling of loneliness came to wash over him where he sat in the dead silence, thinking of how he'd much rather be with Anakin right now. But it didnt last for long as he spotted R2 emerging from the cockpit and rolling down the aisle. The droid had given up its attempts at cheering Anakin up and was now going to Boba for some company.

"Hey..", Boba mumbled tiredly as R2 rolled in there and continued past him and further into the room. He rubbed his eyes a little and watched as the robot came back to stop by the box he was sitting on. "You're lucky you dont need to breathe", he said bitterly. He was starting to feel really annoyed by this situation. The mess he'd gotten himself into. And poor Anakin too. He glowered at R2 for a moment before his features softened again and he bowed his head a little. It wasnt the little droid's fault. Only his own.

In the cockpit, Anakin had finally put aside his food. He had finished eating some time ago but had continued to chew on his drinking straw in deep thoughts until now. As always, desperate situations created desperate thinking and he decided that there was something he could do after all. With a pounding, dull head, he raised from the chair and put the food somewhere else, where it wouldnt be in the way and then he came to stare at the dashboard. Without thinking twice, he crouched down to where R2 had been checking it before, but instead of opening the little slot, he made an attempt at tearing the whole casing off. It didnt work very well. As he brought his lightsaber out to carefully cut the covering off, he doubted that he could fix the problem this way, because it seemed more like there was something wrong with the whole ship. But it was worth a try. He slowly let the tip of the lightsaber burn the metal away until the whole casing came off. Lots of cords became visible as he lit up the darkness in there.

"I cant believe this", Boba said to R2 and sighed. He glanced down the aisle to the cockpit again, just to make sure that Anakin didnt overhear anything that was said back there. "It could be worse I guess...I could be stuck here with someone I hate...", he became silent again, thinking of how he should hate Anakin. Hate him because he's a jedi. But he just couldnt. Stupid feelings. "Not that it matters", he started again, sounding slightly absent. "We're going to die anyway", he added in a bitter tone and R2 let out a low whistling noise that sounded kind of sad. Boba made a short pause before continuing.

"Ever since my father died I've hated all jedi...", he stared at the floor with unfocused eyes. And also a bit of anger when thinking of Mace Windu. R2 continued to listen but now slightly confused as to what the boy was talking about. "But Anakin...is different..", Boba said with a softer voice. "I've never met anyone like him before...he's so nice...", with a heavy sigh, he shifted a little to rest his chin in the palm of his hand. He wondered if the droid was even listening to him, but he didnt really care. What he didnt know was that R2 was recording it all. "I really like him..." There was more unbearable silence passing by and Boba thoughtfully chewed on the inside of his cheek.

"I wonder what's going to happen to me if we survive...", he started again after a while and then with a slightly broken voice, he added: "I wish I could be with him always..." the words that came out of his mouth almost surprised him. This confession that he realized he had just made. Even though those feelings had been there for so long already, he hadnt really been clear on what he wanted.

Anakin was literally half way inside the dashboard as he was desperately searching for anything that looked like it could be fixed. There was a chance that he could use some of the cords to manually restore the functioning of the dashboard and all its controls, but it could also cause more damage. These kind of repairs were usually made in the home base, by professionals. And also with the use of tools that they didnt have in the ship. Frustrated, Anakin retreated from the darkness and out to breathe the cooler, yet still stuffy air and it dawned on him that he was panting. With more effort than it would have usually been, Anakin turned slightly to see Boba and R2 further down the ship. It seemed like he was communicating with the droid.

What he had sensed in Boba all day was starting to nag at him again. Suddenly, as if he had felt him staring, Boba shortly looked over to Anakin and their eyes met for a couple of seconds. However, Boba soon turned his gaze elsewhere, appearing slightly embarrassed. The last couple of hours, Anakin had been going back and forth between different reasons for the clone's behavior and those strong emotions that he couldnt seem to place. The times he had caught him staring and the way he always seemed to look at him. How could he have been so stupid not to have noticed it sooner. Boba must have a crush on him. That's how it must be..While that was flattering, he...A sudden thud could be heard further into the ship and Anakin's eyes met with Boba's again, both equally surprised. But Anakin's expression soon changed into a suspicious one as he got up and moved his tired body towards the doorway.

"I'm going to check something", he told Boba when passing him. "Stay here." Even though Boba rather wanted to come with Anakin, he remained where he was, both curious and worried about the source of the thud. R2 stayed as well, watching as his master went over to open the door to the cargo room. As soon as the door closed again behind Anakin, he looked around the small area with slightly narrowed eyes. The light-switch didnt want to work, but it wouldnt be a problem for him. It wasnt pitch black in there and he always had his trusty lightsaber in case he needed something to show they way. His head felt a bit dull, thus hindering him from thinking as clearly as he'd like to. It was also reducing his ability to use his senses properly, but he didnt really see it as a problem.

The room was full of supply boxes and his eyes scanned every single one of them suspiciously. Maybe one of them had just fell off another one, and that was the thud they had heard. Still, he thought he could sense something. It was hard to tell though, because it felt like his brain had been mostly replaced by a thick fog, but he was pretty sure he had sensed something. As he closed up on a group of boxes, he noticed that the lid had slipped off one of them. Confounded, he carefully stepped closer to pick up the lid and peek down at the contents of the box. Strange...oh well, it must have been on the verge of falling off ever since the ship got hit and now it finally had. He put the lid back on its rightful place and then turned around to leave the room when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. However, there was nothing to be seen when he turned back to look.

Outside, Boba had left his place on the box to sneak up to the cargo room door. He needed to know what was going on in there. But as he peeked in through the glass part of the door, all he could see was darkness. A moment passed by where he considered going inside anyway, despite Anakin's orders, but the room was soon partly lit up by the jedi's lightsaber, so he stayed where he was, wondering what he was up to in there.

Anakin took no notice of Boba staring at him as he was fully concentrated on finding whatever his senses told him was in there with him. He was sure he had seen something. It couldnt just be his mind playing tricks on him. Carefully, he walked around, kicking a little at random boxes to see if anything moved or made an attempt to escape from behind them. Beginning to feel more and more impatient, he shoved some boxes away from the corner and was surprised to find...it looked like some kind of leech, but the size of a rat. The thought of what it was and how it got in there in the first place popped into his mind but he spent no more time on thinking as the creature made an attempt to hide behind yet another box. Quickly, Anakin stomped it, mashing it under the heel of his boot. There was still a presence lingering though. Panting a little, he used the back of his glove to wipe some sweat off his forehead before continuing his search.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are", he spoke as he walked across the room, watchful of where he was going. Why did everything that could go wrong, go wrong? Where the hell did that thing come from? On instinct, he spun around before he even realized that he had sensed something behind him. With a severe, merciless expression on his face, he used his lightsaber to take care of the slimy creatures that scattered across the room and all around him. He only stopped when he felt a sharp sting on his ankle. One of the little bastards seemed to have bored its teeth into his leg but he easily cut it off and it fell dead to the floor. More leeches began to emerge from behind the boxes and even though he was fast to get rid of them, some of them still managed to crawl up his legs and waist. He hissed at the pain it caused him to tear them off, pulling the sharp teeth out of his skin. But at the same time, more of them made their way up his back and other hard to reach places and he struggled to get them all off.

From the other side of the door, Boba could now see what was going on in there and he watched with worry and disgust as the creatures attached themselves to Anakin. The jedi seemed unable to fend them all off without hurting himself with the lightsaber and Boba decided that he couldnt just stand there watching. So without hesitating, he stepped back and opened the door. At first, he came to stare at Anakin with widened eyes as the man struggled and growled in pain.

"Dont come in!" Anakin warned him as he used his lightsaber to cut off yet another group of leeches on his leg, while his other hand was trying to pull one off his shoulder. Ignoring the warning, Boba ran up to him and after a second of hesitation grabbed one of the slimy creatures on the jedi's back. The feeling made him want to puke but he stubbornly pulled it off anyway and let it drop to the floor where he stomped it until all signs of life left it. He then proceeded with doing the same to the few that was left. R2 came helping as well, giving the creatures small shocks, frying them alive.

"What are these things?" Anakin growled as he teared the last one off his neck and crushed it to the floor.

"I dont know, sir", Boba replied as he tried to get the remains of slime off his boot. "But they seem to like you", who wouldnt, he thought and followed Anakin's gaze around the room. The jedi was rubbing the sore spots on his body while making sure there was nothing left of those things. He couldnt sense anything but then he couldnt rely on just that when his head was so dull that he couldnt even rely on his own mind anymore.

"Lets get out of here", Anakin waited for Boba and R2 to leave the room before he closed the door behind them all. This day just kept getting more and more weird. It seemed nothing would surprise him anymore. Well outside, they realized how exhausting that little episode had been. The air was still continuing to disappear, bringing them to the point of panting from the tiniest efforts. He hoped help would come soon or they'd be goners. After having recovered from this strange experience, he gave Boba a stern look.

"I thought I told you to stay here", he said and put the lightsaber back into the holster on his belt. Boba looked kind of guilty for a second before he frowned, feeling slightly offended. Hadnt he just been the biggest help?

"I couldnt just stand there and watch you getting hurt, sir", he said seriously, almost sounding protective of the jedi. He felt his head spinning a little, both from lack of air and for being upset. Anakin's expression softened a little at this.

"I know..", he said then. "I appreciate it", Boba watched worryingly as Anakin rolled one of his sleeves up to reveal the small bloody spots that the leeches had left on his arm. The wounds were very small, as if they had been made by a needle. Even so, they still stung badly.

"Are you going to be ok?" Boba asked carefully and Anakin pulled his sleeve down again without meeting his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm ok", he looked at Boba shortly and then turned to walk back towards the cockpit. But he didnt feel ok. Everything was really starting to get to him. The air, the situation, and now this. Boba wasnt fully convinced by what Anakin had said. He had seen the pain in his eyes, but he let it go and followed quietly. But as he did, there was a sudden dizziness coming over him and he found himself unable to take another step as the whole world started spinning. He didnt have a chance to even react to what was going on before his consciousness slipped from him. It was a short lasting blackout though, as he awoke a second later on the floor where Anakin was crouching down, hovering over him.

"Lucky?" a concerned voice forced its way into his dull head while strong hands turned him over and he squinted his eyes at the bright light from above. Lucky? Pff. It annoyed him every time Anakin called him that, because it wasnt him. Oh how he wished he could show him his real self. A little bit dazed, he brought a hand up to rub his aching head. He felt so nauseous and weak. So numb. However, that was almost completely forgotten about when a hand suddenly came to stroke some hair away from his face. A small blush appeared on his cheeks at the feeling of Anakin's soft, warm hand touching him.

"Are you alright?" the jedi asked then, but Boba just squinted his eyes, trying to focus on him. I am now...but he wouldnt say that. Instead, he made an attempt to sit up and Anakin carefully helped him. His head began to spin a little again and he closed his eyes hard. It was comforting, the way Anakin was holding him, but he was too embarrassed to really enjoy it. He was angry with himself for appearing so weak in front of him and for blushing so much.

"I'm fine", he mumbled quietly, with a hint of anger in his voice, and then turned away, pushing away from Anakin as he tried to get up on his feet. In silence, Anakin helped him to stand again, whether he liked it or not.

"I think you better get some rest", he suggested as he helped Boba back to the cockpit. "try to get some sleep, ok? I'll keep an eye on things," Boba was skeptical to that idea. He couldnt possibly sleep now. Ok, he could, he realized when he sank down into the warm, comfortable chair, but he wouldnt.

"Yes, sir", he replied anyway and leaned back. Now that he was sitting down, it reminded him of how tired he actually was. He just hadnt allowed himself to give into it earlier. But it didnt matter, because he didnt want to spend the little time that was left of his life, on sleeping. He realized suddenly that Anakin was leaving the room again.

"Sir?...Where are you going?" Boba turned slightly to be able to see the jedi who had now stopped in the doorway. There was just silence for a while as Anakin himself was pondering on the reason as to why he was leaving. He couldnt get it to make any sense. He couldnt think at all.

"Nowhere..", he said bluntly. Since he couldnt remember why he left in the first place, he slowly made his way back inside and got seated in the other chair while Boba observed him with wondering eyes. His gaze then traveled away to look outside, but quickly went back to Anakin when the jedi banged his fist down onto the dashboard angrily. Something was uttered under his breath but Boba couldnt make out what. He just watched as Anakin leaned back into the chair again, where he restlessly spun the chair a little. The anger and frustration that the jedi radiated affected Boba and he began to feel really sorry for him. He wished there was some way he could comfort him. Without really giving it a second thought, Boba carefully reached his hand out to place it on Anakin's arm on the armrest, causing the jedi to slowly turn to him. There was a soft change in the man's features when their eyes met.

"I'm sorry", Anakin said in a more serious tone that didnt really match his soft expression.

"It's going to be ok, sir", Boba said quietly but started to regret it already. Why did he say that? They werent going to be ok. They were slowly going to die on board this piece of junk. But Anakin didnt say anything in return. Guess there was nothing to say. They both knew they were screwed. Boba's hand slowly retreated from Anakin's arm and they sat there in silence, each of them pondering on their own. It was hard not to give into the sleepiness that kept forcing itself upon them, and after a few minutes of trying to stay awake, Boba eventually drifted off. Anakin on the other hand was too stubborn to let it happen to himself. He couldnt allow himself to even close his eyes for one minute. He felt the need to keep an eye on everything. When glancing over to Boba, he noticed that the boy had fallen asleep and it made him glad that at least one of them were able to relax a bit. In the moment of studying Boba, his thoughts went back to earlier that day. This clone was really something special, he realized. There was something interesting about him, but he just wasnt able to put his finger on what exactly. Another still moment went by without much thinking, but with determination, Anakin soon pushed himself up from his chair to leave the room.

Some time later, when Boba awoke again, everything was quiet and still. The air was even thicker now than he could remember it to have been before. Tiredly turning his head, he sees Anakin asleep in the other chair. A lot of mixed emotions ran through him when studying the handsome jedi, and thoughts immediately begin to occupy his mind. He didnt want to die. The angst and fear was blending together with the pain in his heart. The pain from wanting to be with Anakin to badly. He didnt think he could take it much longer. Slowly, with much effort, Boba pushed himself up to stand. His eyes remained on Anakin all the time as he carefully moved to come and stand in front of him and he vaguely wondered if he was afraid too. It was almost creepy to watch him sleep. As if he was dead. And they both would be soon, so it wouldnt matter what they did or said anymore. It was just a matter of time really. He could as well...His mind went blank for a second, at the idea that so suddenly came to him.

Carefully, he moved a little closer to the sleeping jedi and he nervously placed his hands on the armrests to be able to lean in a little. He felt himself blushing and his heart racing as he could almost feel Anakin's breath on his face. Hesitating, he moved away a bit as if first now thinking over his actions. Feeling like if his heart was trying to burst out of his chest, he moved one of his trembling hands up to touch Anakin's cold face. He couldnt believe what he was doing, but he couldnt stop himself either. His skin was so soft. So smooth and his hair felt like silk between his fingers. Boba came to stare at the jedi for a long time where his heavy breathing was all that registered in his mind. The hope for survival had left him a long time ago, but it wasnt until now that he had accepted the horrible fate that awaited them. With nothing to lose, he leaned in and carefully brushed his lips against Anakin's. The sensation that coursed throughout his whole body was so overwhelming that it almost caused his limbs to give away under him, but he closed his eyes and kept pressing his lips against the warm ones before him. It felt so incredibly good. Better than anything he had ever experienced before in his life. Just when he had lost himself in the wonderful sensation, he felt Anakin's lips suddenly moving against his own and so he stopped kissing, opening his eyes slightly with a blush spreading over his cheeks.

Anakin found himself in between dreams and reality when acknowledging the feeling of wet lips against his own and he automatically responded with kissing back. It wasnt until a couple of seconds later that he became aware and realized what was really going on. His eyes widened in shock as he grabbed Boba's waist to pull him away from him slightly. This time it was his turn to blush.

"What are you doing?" was all that he could manage to say in the shocked state that he was. He had suspected that Boba liked him but he hadnt expected him to do something like this.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Boba replied bluntly, scanning Anakin's face for anything that would reveal what he was thinking or feeling.

"Lucky..", a wave of guilt and heartache overcame Anakin and he turned his gaze down for a moment. "We cant...", he said as he looked up to meet Boba's eyes again. "I cant...", he got no reply but the look on the boy's face said it all and Boba pushed away from the chair, feeling divided. Anger, disappointment and pain fought for dominance inside him and he struggled to hide the despair that just kept growing stronger and stronger.

"I'm...", Anakin started carefully. "flattered. I really am...but.."

"But what?" Boba snapped, turning to pierce the jedi's eyes with his unforgiving ones. Anakin was slightly taken back by the sudden anger but quickly recovered.

"I'm a jedi...", he spoke quietly, trying to meet Boba's anger with calm, which was funny because he was usually the one to be angry in arguments. But he was interrupted before he could finish.

"So I'm not good enough for you?" Boba growled with hurt clear in his voice and backed away as Anakin raised from the chair.

"That's not true", Anakin said with a strained voice, trying not to show that he was offended. "You dont understand."

"I understand", Boba replied indifferently before turning to take a few steps away from the jedi. He just wanted to leave, but there was nowhere he could go. He just needed to be alone. To die alone because Anakin didnt care about him anyway. This new side of Boba surprised Anakin. Not that he had known him for a very long time, but it was such a drastic mood change.

"You're so young", he started but was beginning to understand that nothing he said would make Boba feel better. "I...", he stopped himself when the boy started walking away and slowly followed.

"Wait...", he almost tripped over R2 in the narrow space between the two rooms. "Lucky!" when he had finally regained his balance, he noticed that Boba had stopped as well, but still with his back turned to him. Boba stood frozen in the doorway, not because Anakin had asked him to stop, but because of the name he had just uttered and he clenched his fists once before letting them relax.

"Dont call me that", he growled. "..I'm not Lucky", Anakin frowned in confusion, speechless for the moment. What did he mean?

"...Who are you?" he wondered, now both confused and suspicious. Boba turned to face him. He had been so torn between wanting to show Anakin his real self and the importance of hiding it, but right now he felt that he had nothing to lose. Everything was going to end soon enough anyway.

"I'm Boba Fett", he said simply, boring his narrowed eyes into the jedi's confused ones. Anakin stood frozen for a moment. What? ..wait...what? He had heard the name Fett before and he was pushing his brain to its limits to try to remember where. Fett...Fett...his heart seemed to stop for a second. The bounty hunter who once arrested him and Padmé...back on Geonosis...could it be...? Realization slowly dawned on him.

"Are you...Jango Fett's son?" the confusion was beginning to fade but the minor shock was still there. How was it possible? Boba just stared back at him with a cold gaze, while Anakin was still desperate for answers.

"What are you doing here? ..Why?" Anakin didnt care if he sounded upset or angry. This was absurd. But Boba's expression changed into a more soft, saddened one and he turned his gaze to the floor. He couldnt tell Anakin about his mission or that he was responsible for this mess. He probably already hated him for who he was.

"I had nowhere else to go..", he lied. It hurt to, but there were things he just couldnt let him know, despite the fact that they were going to die. Anakin closed his eyes hard for a second and rubbed his throbbing temples. He was beginning to feel like if he couldnt use his brain at all anymore. Everything was a blur, but he took a deep breath and came to focus on Boba again.

"What do you mean? Where's your father?" he sensed even before he had finished the question that something was wrong and his features softened a little when he saw Boba biting down on his lower lip. Teary, but angry eyes raised to meet with his.

"He's dead", Boba informed in a quiet tone, as if he was afraid that he'd break down and cry. He hadnt really talked much about it with anyone. No one really understood what it was like for him. Especially not a stupid jedi... Anakin remained silent, feeling the anger running off him slowly. A little bit of pain entered his heart at these news. He could imagine what Boba must have been through, the pain of having lost the only family he had ever had. And Anakin knew exactly what it was like.

"I'm so sorry..", he didnt know what else to say. It was just horrible. He watched as the boy turned away to blink away some tears. He couldnt get himself to feel angry anymore. It had been replaced by pity and just because Boba was the son of a bounty hunter, it didnt mean that he had done anything bad, right?

"I just wanted you to like me..", came Boba's weak voice suddenly, but that was too late now. He couldnt imagine Anakin ever liking him after all this. He swung a little where he stood, staring into the wall. The dizziness was beginning to come back but he tried to ignore it for now. Suddenly, a noise made them both turn their attention back towards the room they had just left. There was that crackling sound again. Anakin turned his whole body around and stumbled back through the narrow passage and into the cockpit, using the walls for support. He thought he could make out a voice in the background, overshadowed by the disturbing noises and he struggled to hurry, but the little air that he could manage to inhale wasnt enough to keep him going and he soon found himself falling limply to the floor. The last thing he heard before passing out was running footsteps.

Seeing Anakin fall, Boba stumbled into the cockpit as well, with his heart beating uncomfortably hard in his chest. He couldnt be dead. He just couldnt. When he finally reached the unmoving jedi, he fell to his knees next to him.

"Anakin?" he reached out trembling hands to shake the lifeless body but got no response. "Anakin?" he gasped for breath, trying to control his fear and trembling limbs. He got an idea suddenly and moved a hand to the jedi's neck. It was a relief to discover that he was still alive, but it didnt mean that he was ok. The horror and guilt of having caused all this to begin with was just too much and he started wishing that he had never come here in the first place. R2 came rolling up to them suddenly, but Boba didnt care about his hysteric tries at making contact with them. He only cared about Anakin. Poor, poor Anakin...He closed his eyes as everything began to spin again and then leaned down to wrap his arms around the jedi, resting his head on his shoulder. Regret, pain and fear was all that filled him where he was lying. His body felt so weak and numb as if he wouldnt be able to stand up again if he tried. And cold too. It was a long time since he had last felt so much sorrow and pain. His thoughts and feelings were just an emotional blur at the moment and he felt his consciousness fade slowly. The sound of R2's rolling wheels was the last thing that his mind registered before he too blacked out.

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**Dun ****dun duuunn. All we can do now is to hope they'll survive  
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	6. Chapter 6

**Murder junkie: I know! I love cliffhangers xD I do it on purpose xD Anyway, yes, I think things will be rather awkward now, especially for Boba. **

**Mantineus: Hopefully yes xD it cant get much worse anyway xD Wait..it can. Btw, thanks for the reviews on my other stories! I'm glad you liked them too

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A low rumbling sound from somewhere far away was the only thing that he took notice of in the waking state that he was. There was only darkness. He didnt even know that he was coming to until his eyes finally decided to open to find out what caused the noises. Everything was a blur at first but he tiredly blinked it away, though some of it refused to disappear. The vibrations he was feeling from bellow and the angle from which he looked around this familiar place made him understand that he was lying down. Realization slowly dawned on him when having taken in enough of the environment. As fast as he could manage to due to his weakened body, Boba pushed himself up into a sitting position on the floor where his head continued to spin for a while. Alot of emotions, good and bad coursed through him when he looked around the cockpit of Slave 1. How did he get here? ...Was he dreaming..? And where was Anakin? Behind one of the chairs, a couple of legs appeared suddenly and his eyes landed on them as they came closer. Groggily, he lifted his head a little to be able to see who it was.

"Well well. Look who's finally awake", Aurra came into view when she crouched before him. She sounded as indifferent as always. Like if she hadnt been worried about him at all. Boba managed to mumble something in return and then brought a hand up to rub at his aching temple.

"That was quite a long nap", Aurra commented while her eyes scanned him from top to toe. "What the hell happened back there? If you were in trouble, why didnt you contact me?" there was a tiny hint of irritation towards the end of her line but Boba hadnt really been paying attention. So this meant that they had been rescued. Or he had anyway. Fear came to grip his heart at the thought of Anakin. Had she just left him there to die? Was he still on that ship? He didnt want to think that. A little more alert now, he forced his eyes to focus on Aurra.

"Where's Anakin..?" his voice came out alot weaker than he thought it would and he struggled to keep his eyes open. It was nice to be able to breathe fresh air again. But he didnt care whether he was suffocating or not at the moment. He just needed to know about Anakin. Confusion displayed in the woman's features for a short moment at this strange question.

"You mean your jedi friend?" she raised to stand up again, wondering why he had referred to the man's name, and not just as a jedi. But she ignored it for now. "Dont worry, I took good care of him", she gave him a cunning smirk and Boba's eyes widened a little.

"What do you mean?" he asked with a slightly trembling voice as he used the wall to try to stand. Could she have killed him off? No, no, no. It couldnt be true. His heart was hurting so from sorrow but he tried his best at hiding it. Aurra was slightly suspicious to why Boba was so interesting in knowing what happened to the jedi. And she was still wondering why he hadnt contacted her earlier.

"I'll show you", she waited until Boba seemed to have successfully gotten up on his feet again before leading him towards the exit of the cockpit, where she pushed a button to open the door. Boba wasnt even given a chance to figure out what she meant by that before the door slid open and he was momentarily dumbstruck. The sight before him made his stomach twist and he swallowed what felt like a lump in his throat. At the same time, he was relieved to see that Anakin was still alive and here with them. But he didnt like the fact that he was all tied up.

"Quite a catch, dont you think?" Aurra said as she came to lean against the doorway. "I'm almost glad that you screwed up", she added and smirked at the angry jedi. Boba however, remained silent. The glare he received from Anakin was breaking his heart into a thousand pieces. Everything was ruined. He had lost the jedi's trust and there was no way he could regain it now.

"Think of the reward we'd get if we handed him over to Dooku", Aurra's voice came soon again, dripping of mockery as she turned her gaze from Anakin and to Boba, who was still standing frozen under the jedi's glare. It wasnt until the door slid shut again in front of him that he finally snapped out of it, finding himself staring at the grey, metallic surface of the door instead. He was horrified by Aurra's plan. What would have otherwise sounded like a real good idea was now completely out of question for him. Had it been any other jedi, anyone at all, Boba wouldnt have been so hesitant to her plan. But this was sweet, nice Anakin. And even tough he had been rejected earlier, he couldnt let Aurra send him to his doom. A dissatisfied expression replaced the shocked one on his face as he turned to watch Aurra walking back towards the dashboard.

"Why so quiet?" She asked Boba suddenly, right when he was about to open his mouth to speak, and she threw a slightly wondering glance at him from over her shoulder. It just screamed of 'what the hell is wrong with you?'. Boba slowly walked up to come and stand beside her, but he avoided to look at her.

"I dont think we should do it", he said after having gathering some courage. He could feel Aurra's hard eyes on him.

"Do what?" she wondered with annoyance clear in her voice. Why was he acting so strange? This time however, Boba turned to look into her eyes when speaking again.

"We cant hand him over to Dooku", he said with a stronger voice this time, returning the hard gaze. He could see how the woman's expression changed into a stunned, then angry one.

"What's the matter with you?" she was beginning to lose her patience with this kid. "Are you defending an enemy?" she glared at Boba, who didnt seem intimidated but kept his determined expression.

"He saved my life", he countered with and he knew it was a lame reason, because a bounty hunter shouldnt involve his feelings in missions or feel that the favour should be returned. And it wasnt a reason good enough. It didnt gain them in any way. But he couldnt let Aurra know that the real reason behind it was his love for the jedi.

"He thought you were on his side. He thought you were one of their soldiers. Of course he saved your life!" she snapped and crossed her arms. She couldnt believe how stupid he was acting. Boba's expression softened a little at this and he realized that he couldnt really disagree with her. Even so, Anakin hadnt treated him any differently when he had revealed who he really was. Or he hadnt seemed angry or hateful anyway...But had he known what Boba did on Endurance he wouldnt have been so forgiving. But he wasnt going to find out about that. Ever. Though, the jedi must hate him anyway, for being in collusion with his kidnapper. But Boba hadnt planned for things to turn out like this. It hadnt been his intention.

"He still did", he persisted and looked away from Aurra's condemning eyes, waiting for the argument he knew was to come.

"Is that so?" it was obvious that she didnt believe him. That she understood that there was something more to it. "What the hell happened on that ship?" there was no reply as Boba refused to answer and he turned his back to her. "What did he do to you?"

"He didnt do anything", Boba growled. Why did she blame Anakin for everything? ...Why did he still defend him? The jedi couldnt possibly like him in any way anymore. So why should he stand up for him? Or care about him still? ...Because he simply couldnt help it. Stupid crush.

"Then why do I get the impression that you actually care about what happens to a f*cking jedi?" she growled back and Boba clenched his teeth and his whole body stiffened at her accusation. But within all rights, because so far, he hadnt given her any good reason as to why they couldnt hand Anakin over to Dooku. There just wasnt any excuse for his behavior. Turning slowly and with his emotions under control, Boba faced the angry woman once again.

"I cant let you take him", he knew exactly what this was sounding like, but there was no way he could let her do it. At the same time, he was beginning to question his own actions. The consequences. What would he gain from this? He would only make things worse for himself.

"Perhaps you'd rather join your friend in Dooku's prison then?" Aurra threatened him.

Behind the door, Anakin was still struggling to try and break free from the ropes. His arms had been tied back behind him and it was a little too dark to see properly. But even if there was something he could use to get up on his feet, he was still too weak to do it. Breathing fresh air again was wonderful but his head was still dull and he felt nauseous and exhausted. Keeping still for a moment to rest his weary limbs a little, he could hear voices out there. It sounded as if they were arguing. Suddenly, the door opened again and Anakin squinted at the bright light that struck him right in the eyes. The silhouette of Boba and the woman appeared and blocked the light out slightly and the boy was suddenly pushed inside.

"I'm sorry, Boba, but you left me no choice", she said bitterly, watching as he tried to regain his balance but instead fell on his bum and immediately began to struggle against his bonds. "I hope you're happy now", her narrowing eyes was the last thing they saw before the door slid shut once again. There was dead silence then where only Boba's heavy breathing could be heard. He was furious. Offended. How could she do this to him? In his own ship?

At first, Anakin had been angry with Boba. Having felt betrayed and used by this bounty hunter and his friend, but at the moment, he was more confused than mad really. The ironic thing was that if it hadnt been for this woman, he would have been dead now. She had practically saved his life, but only to let someone else take it. He wondered what had happened out there for her to lock Boba in here too. His curiosity finally got the better of him and he decided to ask.

"Why did she throw you in here?" he said in a neutral tone of voice, not really feeling compassionate. He bored his eyes into Boba expectantly but the boy didnt look at him. Maybe he wasnt interested in answering at all.

"She wants to hand you over to this guy called Dooku", Boba muttered quietly but didnt look at the jedi.

"I know who he is", Anakin was quick to reply and his gaze followed Boba's to the dark door.

"..I tried to convince her not to..", he bit down on his bottom lip. "I couldnt let her do it..", he became silent then, a blush appearing on his face as memories began to return to him. The kiss and everything. Things had been really embarrassing back there. Still are. Awkward. He wondered slightly what the jedi was thinking of it all...It came a little as a surprise to Anakin. That Boba would risk so much to protect him and he found himself momentarily speechless. Even though the boy seemed to like him very much, he couldnt believe that he wanted to help freeing him. Especially not after their little argument back on the ship.

"So...who is she?" Anakin said in a more serious voice. "I thought you said you were all alone?" though, he hid the suspicion in his voice. Boba made an attempt to pull his hands out of the ropes behind him, but to no avail. They just rubbed more against his already sore wrists.

"She's...been helping me", he replied simply and let his tongue slip over his dry lips. He didnt know what else to say. What was there to say really? They were both in deep shit because of him and now he was on Aurra's bad side as well. He realized that this wouldnt end well. Maybe she was really serious about handing him over to Dooku as well. His heart dropped at this. He was on everyone's bad side now. Not completely satisfied with the answer, Anakin pressed the matter further.

"Then why were you on Endurance?" he was beginning to feel really suspicious now. Did Boba have anything to do with what happened back there? It would make sense...but he couldnt be sure.

"I've...been with the other clones all this time", he kept to his previous story, not matter how much it hurt to lie to Anakin. "I didnt find an opportunity to escape until now. I havent been able to contact her before...But I did on Endurance so that she could pick me up...but she didnt make it in time", he avoided to mention the woman's name. Not that he would want to defend her after having been thrown in here, but bounty hunters needed to watch each others' backs. It was a risky profession, especially with jedi who had the law on their side and working against them.

From what he had heard, Anakin still wasnt sure of what to believe and not to.

"Did she know your father?" he wondered, without sounding like if he was interrogating him, but Boba didnt reply to that. He didnt want to talk about his father. It would only rip up his emotional wounds again. And he didnt need that right now. He needed to stay focused and in control of his own feelings.

"I dont want to talk about him", Boba said in a more quiet tone this time and his face adapted an anxious expression. He focused his weary eyes on the floor by the door. "You wouldnt understand anyway..", he added with a more bitter voice. No one could understand what he had been through.

"What wouldnt I understand?" Anakin tried not to sound offended, because he knew very well what it was like to lose someone you love. His intensive gaze lingered on Boba all the time, impatiently waiting for him to answer.

"You dont understand what it's like for me", Boba explained finally. Silence occurred then while Anakin tried to think of a way to approach this. He remembered the day when he found his mother as clearly as if it had been yesterday, and he always would. A pain that he hadnt felt for a long time returned to his heart but he pushed it away for now.

"About a year ago, I went to my home planet Tatooine to see my mother", he started quietly and his gaze slowly wandered away from Boba. "I hadnt seen her for years...", he stopped himself here and swallowed, wondering if he was still too sensitive to bring it up again. Of course he had talked about it before. He had talked to Obiwan about it and to Padmé, but it was still hard. "When I was little, we used to be slaves there", at this, Boba turned and stared at Anakin, a little shocked. He could tell by the tone of the jedi's voice that this story wasnt going to end happily. Anakin was a little surprised himself, that he was telling a stranger about such an important part of his life.

"but when I got there after all this time, I was informed that she had been kidnapped...", his throat felt so dry that he had to swallow again. "So I went out looking for her...but I was too late..", he felt the anger coming back to him but tried to push it aside as well as the pain. It was all behind him now. He had to let it go and move on. He couldnt let past things affect him like this. Boba felt tears burning in his eyes at this sad story, but quickly blinked them away.

"I'm sorry..", he said, just above a whisper. It shocked him that Anakin had lost a loved one too. He could've never imagined. Strangely enough, it made him feel slightly better. So maybe the jedi understood anyway.

"You're not alone, Boba", their eyes met then in silence, and Boba felt his heart beating faster when looking into Anakin's warming ones. There was a little bit of comfort for both of them in between all the sorrow. His love for this jedi was just growing stronger and stronger. But it was breaking his heart that the man hadnt returned it. He felt so stupid for having thought that the jedi would love him back. It was just stupid...Anakin finally turned his gaze elsewhere, hoping that he had made Boba feel a bit better. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps reached their ears and they both turned their attention to the door. When it slid open, they werent surprised to see Aurra smirking back at them. In silence, she crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes all the time on Boba.

"Have you changed your mind yet?" she asked and Boba glared in return.

"Let us go!" he ordered her, but her eyes just narrowed in response.

"I dont think so", she snorted. Anakin remained silent however. It wouldnt help them to yell at her. They needed to come up with some sort of an escape plan instead.

"You cant do this!" Boba struggled again against the ropes. He'd had enough of this. "This is my ship!" but Aurra didnt seem to care that he was upset. She just shook her head.

"Not for long", her cold eyes bore into Boba's as she let the door slid shut again and Anakin worryingly turned to look at the boy. He could sense all the anger and frustration in him and for some strange reason, it really made him want to comfort him.

"Dont worry. We'll get out of here", he ensured him. He wasnt sure if he could keep that promise, but he would do everything he could. "So this is your ship?" he was a little surprised. He had thought it belonged to the female bounty hunter. There was silence for a while where Anakin looked around the small space.

"Yeah..", Boba sighed. "It was my father's", he looked around too, thinking of memories when his eyes suddenly landed on something in the dark corner.

"Is that...?" what was its name again? "R2?" He saw Anakin turning to look the same way as he did. The little droid looked dead. There were no signs of life whatsoever. It looked as if it could have been standing for years without no one using it.

"Yeah...he's been deactivated", came Anakin's bitter voice and he automatically pulled at the ropes again. It wasnt possible to loosen them by himself. Maybe he could have managed to if he didnt feel so damn weak. But stubborn as always, he made an attempt to get up, using the wall behind him to support his body and Boba watched in silence as the jedi struggled. After a few attempts, Anakin succeeded and his eyes went to Boba on the floor, expectantly.

"Could you try to get up?", when it became obvious to him that the boy didnt understand what good it would do, he added: "I have an idea." Boba threw a suspicious glance at the door, just in case Aurra would come back, before imitating Anakin's way of getting up. It was more of an effort than it looked like and the nausea that he had experienced back on the other ship was starting to come back again, but he ignored it and kept pushing until he was finally standing up straight.

"Ok, now turn around", Anakin said and turned his back towards a confused Boba.

"What are you going to do?" he wondered skeptically but did as he was told and soon he could feel the jedi's hands against his own. A blush spread over his cheeks involuntarily.

"I'm going to try to untie your ropes", Anakin replied calmly, completely oblivious to the boy's reaction. Boba felt his whole body tense when the warm hands moved over his smoothly. They were so soft and caring. Embarrassed by his own thoughts, he pushed them away and concentrated on keeping his hands out of the way so that Anakin could free him, while at the same time listening for possible footsteps outside. Even though it was painful and hard, he told himself over and over to let the jedi go. To forget about him and the feelings that were nestled so deep in his heart. Because Anakin would never love him.

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**Any thoughts? :3 oh, btw, I'm so glad I finally got to use the sentence "you're not alone" in the story. Ever since I started this fanfic I've wanted to fit it in somewhere. I think it sounds nice since it's the name of the story and because Boba isnt alone, even though he might think so  
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	7. Chapter 7

**nat13cat: Thanks alot ^^ I'm really glad you like it. And I will definitely keep writing  
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**Murder Junkie: it's ok ^^ I was actually one day late with the new chapter anyway x) yesss, unrequited love is fun. Poor Boba though. ~Thanks again! **

**Mantineus: Aww, I hope you'll get better soon then. It's never fun to be sick Dx oh yes, I noticed that you read 'forbidden love'. thanks alot for that ^^ I've wanted to write more chapters but I've been so busy with this fanfic lately. But I will continue it eventually. Btw, which of Anakin's questions were you referring to in your review? I cant really remember what he's been asking x)**

**Skywalker02: Thank you! ^^ I'm glad you stopped by and told me what you thought about it :) I hope you'll like the rest of it too

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Boba waited while Anakin worked on the ropes, but as soon as they started loosening a bit he impatiently tried to pull his hands free. When they finally came lose, his wrists were all sore and aching and he carefully rubbed at them with a deep frown on his face.

"Hey, are you forgetting about me?" Anakin asked, not very seriously though and Boba untangled his arms from the ropes, letting them fall to the floor before turning to the jedi.

"How could I?" Boba mentally face-palmed after having said that. What a stupid thing to say. He decided to just shut up the rest of the time he was working on untying the ropes around the man's wrists. In the meantime, Anakin had his eyes on the door only. This was almost too easy...He would have expected the woman to make it a little harder for them to escape, but he had learned never to underestimate his enemies and this was no exception. He felt the ropes loosening suddenly and was finally able to free his stiff arms from the uncomfortable position they had been locked in for some time now.

"Thanks", he carefully placed the ropes on the floor while Boba went over to the door to press his ear to it in an attempt to hear if anything was going on on the other side. But there was no telling what Aurra might be up to out there. Anakin was relieved to see that his communicator was still in his pocket, unlike his lightsaber. At least she hadnt stolen all of his stuff. He quietly moved up to the door as well, but to locate the switch to open it. His eyes then focused on the young bounty hunter.

"Stay behind me", he whispered and pressed himself to the wall right next to the door. But when he pushed the button nothing happened.

"Of course...", he sighed and relaxed a little. "I should have known...", if only he had his lightsaber now, then he could've easily cut a hole in the door. A frown appeared on his face at the thought of his weapon in the hands of that bounty hunter.

"I can call her", Boba suggested. "Then she has to open it", their eyes locked for a moment where Anakin agreed with a silent nod and took a step back. Boba licked his dry lips in a concentrated manner as he stepped up to the door again. This better work, or they may be stuck here the rest of the journey with maybe no chance to escape.

"Aurra?" his voice echoed throughout the place, carrying hints of hesitation, but when he got no reply he called on her again. This time with a stronger voice. "Aurra? Come on, answer me!" at first it didnt seem like she would respond this time either, but right when Boba had lost hopes in getting any reply, her annoyed voice came through to them.

"What do you want?" it didnt sound very close to the door. Boba swallowed, standing frozen for a second while thinking.

"Uh...I'm really thirsty...could you please get me something?" he tried to sound really desperate. "Please?" both him and Anakin looked at each other in tense silence, awaiting the bounty hunter's next reply. But instead the door soon slid open before them, showing an ever so annoyed Aurra. But her facial expression changed dramatically when she realized what was going on and Anakin couldnt help but smirk at the look on her face as she angrily stepped back and brought her gun out, pointing it at the smug jedi.

"I'll take that, thank you", Anakin easily used the force to snatch the gun from her and it flew across the room and into his hand instead. Aurra's eyes narrowed in anger when her prisoners stepped into the room with her and her own gun was now pointing back at her. Boba walked up next to Anakin, watching the two in silence.

"Bastard", Aurra hissed at Anakin as he once again used the force to try and retrieve his lightsaber from her pocket. Her eyes immediately found it vibrating against her leg, on its way to leave and without a second thought, she threw herself behind the chairs and activated the lightsaber. Then slowly raised again with a cunning smirk directed towards Anakin.

"You should have shot me when you had the chance, jedi", she smoothly moved out from behind the chairs and Boba watched angrily as she teased Anakin, turning and twisting the lightsaber in her hand. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"I dont have time for games", Anakin took a step towards her, a severe expression decorating his features. "Hand it over", but Aurra just laughed, apparently amused by his request.

"I dont think so", she smirked at him again and Anakin found himself considering the option of shooting her. There was a chance that he could damage the interior of the ship. However, he was confident that he probably wouldnt miss and could take the risk. If only to distract her. So before he would possibly change his mind, he raised the gun and as anticipated, the woman leaped out of the way and up onto the dashboard when he fired. It confounded him how well she seemed to be able to wield a lightsaber, as she had just blocked his attack perfectly, but he thought nothing more of it for now, as it wasnt the main problem here. A short distance away, Boba carefully sneaked over to hide behind the two chairs when he saw Anakin forcing her back towards them. Either she was just playing with him or she didnt want to cause any harm to him before he was handed over to Dooku. Though, it didnt seem very likely that she would be able to gain control over the jedi again if she couldnt threaten him with the lightsaber.

"I suggest you give me my lightsaber back if you know what's good for you", Anakin growled and stopped. And so did Aurra. His expecting, yet cautious gaze lingered on her as she took a slow step to the side, seemingly not the least intimidated by his approach. Or so it appeared anyway. In the meantime, Boba rounded the out most chair, still slightly hidden from their view. Or from Aurra's at least since she was having her back towards him. From his crouched position, he watched warily, curious at how Anakin planned on getting his weapon back without risking to lose one of his fingers. Things had really taken a strange turn since they came here.

"Come and get it", Aurra snorted at Anakin and jumped over to the closest chair, still keeping a safe distance between herself and the jedi by using the lightsaber. It didnt take long though, before she decided to switch place yet again. But right when she moved to jump over to the other chair, Boba was quick to reach out and grab her ankle. Aurra gave off a surprised yelp when she lost her footing and fell with her back slamming hard into the floor. She was too stunned to utter another sound when Anakin suddenly landed on her. It wasnt until he started attempting to steal the lightsaber from her that anger showed in her face and she began to struggle. Boba stood up again, watching the silent battle with a pounding heart, and hoping that none of them would get seriously hurt. To his relief, it didnt take long for Anakin to pull the lightsaber out of her death grip and he was soon on his feet too, glaring down at her with condemning eyes.

"Get up", he ordered, letting his lightsaber hover close to her as she moved to stand. She angrily wiped some dust of her cheek as she bored her eyes into Anakin's. They remained on him for a moment before they moved over to Boba. Unexpected to both him and the jedi, she suddenly slapped the younger bounty hunter hard across the face, making him gasp in shock and pain.

"Traitor", she hissed under her breath but soon found Anakin's lightsaber dangerously close to her throat and she was forced to lean her head back a little to avoid the burning light from touching her skin. But her eyes showed no fear or regret, only confidence and anger as they pierced Anakin's furious ones.

"If you ever touch him again", the jedi warned with a dangerous tone in his voice and Aurra's only reaction was the corner of her mouth curving into a slight smirk.

"Why are you defending an enemy?" she mocked him. She would very much like to know the reason to both of their behavior and what could possibly have happened on that ship for them to act like this towards each other. Anakin stood frozen with his hard eyes on hers all this time with the lightsaber still hovering dangerously close to her throat. Why 'was' he defending Boba? A bounty hunter. A criminal...His mind went blank for a second. Boba had tried to help him. He hadnt tried to hurt him or anything similar. And Anakin knew in his heart that the boy cared for him for real. There was a mutual feeling and a strong will to protect him as well.

"That's none of your business", he said with a controlled voice, yet there were hints of anger in it. Beside him, Boba was rubbing his sore cheek. He couldnt help but feel surprised and also flattered by Anakin's actions. Then he must still care for him...But he felt extreme guilt. Like he didnt deserve his affection. Aurra only snorted in response to Anakin's reply and Boba felt himself hurting from this drastic change in his relationship to her. He mostly felt anger though. After her try at kidnapping him as well and turn him over to Dooku together with Anakin. That just wasnt ok.

"Anyway", Anakin started with a bitter voice. "You'll have lots of time to think about it at the jedi temple", Boba's eyes widened at this and he came to look at Anakin.

"No", was all that he could think of to say and found himself unable to think of a way to explain himself when Anakin's confused eyes bore into his. He could see the suspicion in them and his heart immediately started pounding harder. "You cant take her there", he swallowed when the jedi's eyes narrowed a little, in silence, as if he was momentarily stunned.

"Are you saying that we should let her go?" Anakin's voice came out a little harsher than he had intended it to, but he couldnt help the confusion and anger the welled up inside him at this. He had protected Boba from this woman and now he wanted to defend her? "Why would you want to do that after what she's done to you?" Boba had no good answer to that, except that she'd been helping him so much. Even though she'd been threatening him, he was the one who had betrayed her in the first place by trying to help Anakin. So her behavior was understandable. If they let her go, they could all just forget about this and move on. Because he did realize that his friendship with this woman was over. He wouldnt want to be around her anymore after all that had happened and the feeling was obviously mutual. He couldnt trust her.

"It's just...", he began quietly. "I was the one who betrayed her. To help you. It's all my fault she's mad", he said with guilt clear in his voice. "Cant we just let her go and forget about it?", he sighed, his pleading eyes boring into the jedi's and he brought one hand up to place it on the man's arm. "Please..", his fingers gently stroked at the fabric. There was a small change in Anakin's features before he teared his eyes off Boba and lowered them to the floor, looking thoughtful. But only for a couple of seconds as he soon came to glare at Aurra, who once again had that mocking look in her eyes. She had to admit that Boba was surprising her. She wouldnt have thought that he would have any mercy on her after what she had done.

"I'm sorry, Boba", Anakin replied coolly as he started forcing the woman back towards the room where she had held them prisoners before. Without another word on the matter, Boba watched helplessly as Anakin used the ropes to make sure that she wouldnt try to go anywhere until they arrived back at the temple. Something popped into his mind then.

"My things..", he walked slowly across the floor and stopped in the doorway, avoiding eye contact with Aurra "I need to go back and get them", he then watched as Anakin left her to go and check on R2 that was still standing in the corner, collecting dust.

"Your things?" he said absentmindedly as he examined the droid. "Where are they?" he began to push R2 towards the door and out into the cockpit. Both him and Boba came to look at Aurra when she snorted.

"They're not there", she spit, glaring at the young bounty hunter while she made a weak attempt at trying to break out of the ropes around her body and Boba's eyes widened a little.

"What do you mean?" his worry was soon changed into frustration and anger. "Where are they?" but all she did was to return his mad gaze with a mocking one. "Tell me!" Anakin came to stand next to him in the doorway and he gave Aurra a meaning look.

"Are you going to answer his question?" the look he received from her then clearly told him that she thought he should stay out of their conversation, but she said nothing to him. Instead she settled her eyes on Boba again.

"They're where you last put them, stupid", she replied with an indifferent voice and without really taking notice of being insulted, Boba worryingly turned his head to look out over the cockpit. When he turned fully and strolled back deeper into the room, Anakin decided it was time to shut the door between them and the female bounty hunter.

"You'll regret this, Boba", Aurra's voice reached out him before the door slid shut and he made a face but quickly shook it off and continued his search for his belongings. If they were'nt where he thought they were, then they had to be here on the ship somewhere. When he reached one of the storage boxes up by the dashboard, he immediately fell to his knees in front of it. But when he opened it he found to his disappointment that it was empty. With more worry than before, he raised again and went over to the other side where yet another box was waiting. With a pounding heart, his fingers grabbed around the cold lid and he stared at it for a moment, afraid that this box would be empty as well. He dared to push a little at the lid and peek inside the dark space in there. His face slowly changed to relieved when he spotted what he was looking for and opened the box fully.

His heart was now pounding from a small rush of happiness instead, spreading throughout him when he reached down to bring his father's helmet up. It was strange how it comforted him every time he held it in his hands. Even though Jango was gone, it soothed his aching heart to know that there were still parts of him there with him. Now that he knew his stuff was in a secure place, he was finally able to relax a bit. In the corner of his eye, he noticed that Anakin was tending to his droid and decided that his things could wait. So closing the lid again, he got up and walked over to the jedi. He hoped the little robot wasnt broken.

"How's it going?" he wondered quietly, watching as Anakin wiped some dust off R2 and at the same time looking for dents and other possible damages. "Is it going to be ok?" he sat on the floor on the other side of R2, opposite the jedi, but Anakin didnt look up to meet his eyes.

"Yea...probably", he mumbled. "I think she just deactivated him so that he wouldnt bother her", he let his hands slid down the sides of R2 slowly, but stopped and froze when Boba's hands landed upon his own. Their eyes met in silence and he gave the bounty hunter a blank look, wondering slightly curiously what was going on.

"Cant we just drop her off somewhere?" Boba pleaded and he carefully squeezed the hands under his. "Please, Anakin", Anakin only swallowed in return, feeling himself softening under the penetrating gaze he received. Why did he find himself wanting to obey everything that Boba asked of him? He sighed then, letting out the air loudly through his nose.

"It's not that easy", he said honestly. He couldnt go against everything that he was standing for as a jedi. He had already helped Boba, a supposed enemy. He didnt want his place in this war to be questioned.

"No one has to know", Boba insisted and he slowly slipped his hands off Anakin's. Another sigh escaped the jedi's lips.

"I'll think about it..", he promised and his eyes returned to R2. His answer had been satisfying enough for Boba who found himself smiling a little for the first time in a long time. He felt more confident that things would work out in the end now. Time to activate R2 again and see if he was still working. Anakin had no doubts about it though. He wouldnt accept the possibility of his little friend being broken. The little lamp on the robot's front was slowly beginning to fill with color again. It died down a couple of times but then came back to fill the room with a soft light.

"welcome back my friend", he smiled as the droid curiously looked around the place. With a heavy sigh, Anakin heaved himself up from the floor, giving R2 a small pat before going over to the dashboard. It was on automatic, just like he had anticipated. Or else Aurra wouldnt have left it unguarded. It just occurred to him that he should try to contact the jedi temple. To let them know that he was alright. And Boba too of course. Or Lucky rather...While keeping his eyes on the windshield and the space outside, he brought the communicator up from his pocket. His eyes only went to it when activating it and then waited for Obiwan to 'pick up'.

Boba was watching Anakin from a distance, wondering who he was talking to. Probably another jedi. R2 was very slowly rolling alongside the wall as if exploring the place but Boba teared his eyes off it to focus them on Anakin yet again. He decided to walk a little closer. He was so enthralled by the sight of the handsome jedi that it almost went unnoticed to him that he was moving closer but he eventually stopped a small distance from him and listened as Anakin was talking about explaining things later. Unknown to Boba, R2 was watching them, curious about the bounty hunter's interest in his master. He waited until it seemed like Anakin had ended the conversation. He then rolled forward a bit, bumping into Boba from behind, causing the boy to loose his footing and stumble right into the jedi. Anakin automatically caught him but Boba was too embarrassed to accept his help and immediately pushed away with a deep blush on his face. And a glare was sent back at R2 for having pushed him. If looks could kill...

"R2", Anakin scolded and crossed his arms but couldnt help but smile a little at Boba, who was obviously not happy with the situation. His face adapted a more serious expression then.

"They're awaiting us at the temple", he said and let his arms relax again. Boba seemed to momentarily forget about the little mishap that took place seconds ago and he came to seat himself in one of the chairs with a blank look on his face.

"What's going to happen to me now...", he started absentmindedly. Now he really had nowhere to go.

"Well...", Anakin sat down in the other chair carefully. "I suggest that you come with me to the jedi temple for now", he fell silent when the boy gave him a surprised, skeptical kind of look. "The others would wonder what happened to that clone cadet...you know", he added and Boba swallowed. He wasnt all too keen to the idea of being stuck at a place full of jedi, but he guessed they could work something out later. He knew that Anakin wouldnt tell anyone about who he really was and he had nowhere else to go anyway. Something dark flashed in his eyes shortly. He wouldnt stay there for long though. He wasnt a jedi, nor one of those brainwashed clone soldiers...He turned a little to lock his eyes with Anakin's again.

"What about my ship?" he wondered. "How are we going to explain everything to them?"

"Dont worry. I'll take care of everything...I'll make something up", Anakin ensured him and his eyes became slightly unfocused then as they traveled away from Boba to lock on a star far away in the dark outside. Strange how things had turned out lately. Only a day ago, he would never have thought that he would help someone that was supposingly an enemy. But like Boba said, no one had to know. And he suspected they wouldnt have to keep it a secret for long since he understood that Boba would want to leave once things had been worked out. They both leaned back and relaxed, tired and exhausted from earlier events. It was hard to believe that this would actually be a calm and safe trip back to Coruscant after all they had been through so far. Or so they hoped anyway...

"Hey Boba?" Anakin glanced over at the boy tiredly, wanting to confirm that he was hearing him before continuing. "I'm sorry that I hurt you before...", Boba's eyes met with his at this but his facial expression gave no hints about what he was thinking or feeling. "If you were older...I would have maybe gone out on a date with you", he finished and managed a small smile at the bounty hunter's surprised expression. Boba became a little more alert at this announcement. At first he felt a bit offended. Did Anakin think that he was childish..? On the other hand, what he'd been told made him glad. Because that meant that Anakin had to like him, at least a little bit. A slight chuckle escaped the man's mouth.

"But jedi arent allowed to have relationships..", he murmured in a way that showed that he wasnt the least happy with the rules. "We arent allowed to have attachments to things, or to people in that way..." Boba wondered who decided these stupid things and he truly felt pity for Anakin. However...if there was a chance that the jedi wanted him, he wouldnt care about the rules. He would have Anakin no matter what. He would get what he wanted eventually...But right now, the problem was himself and not any stupid jedi rules. It made him more frustrated and sad now that he had realized that it was his fault that they couldnt be together. If Anakin didnt want him the way he was now...then what could he do? He wished he could get older somehow...If that was all that was hindering them, then he needed to find a way...

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**I feel that things are finally starting to happen now. Btw, if you want to check out my deviantart I've got some star wars pics. If you're interested :) Unfortunately it seems I cant post links here. But my username is GoreChick. if you search that name you should find me, or you'll probably find transformers pics, but they're mine. thanks again all!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Skywalker02: hehe, thanks I guess x)**

**Mantineus: hm, I changed the previous chapter a little by adding an explanation to Boba's thinking. So I hope it makes more sense now :3

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The sun was slowly setting behind the tall buildings of Coruscant, drowning the whole town in a beautiful yellow light. Their shadows seemed to stretch on forever as they made their way down the ramp of the ship, towards the jedi temple. Anakin had his lightsaber prepared as they followed close behind Aurra, just in case she would try anything. But it wasnt likely that she would, judging by the situation. When they reached the end of the ramp and stepped out onto ground level, they were greeted by Obiwan, Ahsoka and a few clone troopers. Even though no one knew who he really was, Boba still felt slightly anxious as he watched the jedi and soldiers closing up on them. Then Anakin stopped suddenly, and he and Aurra did too.

He knew that Anakin had to hand her over to them. It wasnt an option for him to just let a criminal go. Especially one that had kidnapped him and had plans on dumping him at Dooku's place. Boba supposed he should be glad that the jedi hadnt decided on throwing him into their prison too. There was nothing he could do to help Aurra now and he was starting to think that maybe it was for the best. After all, she had threatened to hand him over to Dooku too and he felt stupid for having trusted her. For having thought that she actually cared about what happened to him. Apparently, she didnt. And so he shouldnt feel any guilt for what was going to happen to her.

They squinted their eyes a little when Obiwan and the others walked up to them, and it occurred to Boba that he had seen this man before. For a second, he feared that the jedi would recognize him as well, but quickly reminded himself of that he probably looked like any other clone to him.

"Welcome back, Anakin", Obiwan greeted him and seemed to study the ship in the background thoughtfully before continuing. "We were beginning to worry that you wouldnt show up at all", he then glanced at Aurra. "And you brought a guest?" he wasnt serious of course. Judging by the ropes that were tightly wrapped around her body, there was no mistaking she was a prisoner.

"Yes. She's responsible for kidnapping me and...Lucky here", Anakin replied in a normal, controlled conversation voice. Both Obiwan and Ahsoka looked a little shocked at this.

"Kidnapping?" the girl took a step forward. "What happened?" she wanted to know stubbornly but Obiwan came with another question before Anakin could answer his padawan.

"Is she also responsible for the little mishap on Endurance?" he wanted to know but Anakin shook his head. He still hadnt come to terms with what really happened back there.

"I dont know", he replied and brought a hand up to shield his eyes from the blinding sunlight. "But she seems to have some sort of a connection to count Dooku. He's the one she planned on handing us over to", Aurra smirked at this. Stupid jedi. Boba may seem innocent to them but for how long would his lies work?

"I see", Obiwan pulled at his beard thoughtfully, before turning around to address the clone troopers behind them. "You may take her away", he ordered and two of them immediately came to grab one each of Aurra's arms. Boba swallowed nervously at this. The situation felt so unreal somehow. He wondered if he'd ever see her again.

"You may have succeeded in capturing me", she growled and struggled slightly when the two men touched her. "But you're letting lose an enemy in your base", she hissed and threw a sharp glance back at Boba. It was an unforgiving glare that pierced his eyes and straight into his soul, making his whole body stiffen and his heart began to pound out of control inside his chest. They all seemed confused by this announcement but Anakin quickly saved the situation.

"I dont know what she's talking about", he deactivated his lightsaber as the now hesitant soldiers dragged her away.

"That's none of your clone cadets!" She yelled back at them and Boba's eyes widened in shock. He stood there stunned, unable to say or do anything to defend himself. "That's Boba Fett!" was the last that she yelled before they dragged her off and into the temple. Boba's heart seemed to stop beating for a second and he found himself holding his breath in the middle of inhaling. This wasnt good. He just stared in stunned silence as Obiwan and Ahsoka turned their heads back to face him and Anakin. But once again, the jedi defended him.

"I wouldnt listen to her", he said with a voice as calm as ever and put the lightsaber back into his belt and Boba's body relaxed slightly when all their attention was momentarily turned towards R2 who came rolling down the ramp towards them. What he didnt notice was Obiwan glancing suspiciously at him.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're ok, master", Ahsoka suddenly stepped up to them and hugged Anakin and Boba frowned. Who was this annoying girl? And why was she clinging to Anakin? He didnt like it. Not one bit.

"We thought you were a goner", she added when pulling back, but Anakin just smiled.

"It takes more than bounty hunters and an explosion to get rid of me", he replied with confidence, and he glanced down at Boba for a second, who met his eyes with wonder, before Anakin landed his gaze on the two remaining clone troopers.

"Would you take him to the medical center?" he asked and gave Boba a push towards them. "I want them to make sure he's really alright", the young bounty hunter threw an disliking glance back at the man but obediently walked up to the soldiers. Wasnt Anakin going to let them check on him as well? Besides, he felt alright. He was perfectly fine.

"Yes, sir", one of them answered Anakin and they both lead Boba away towards a different part of the temple, from where Aurra had been taken. With a slightly bowed head, Boba followed the two men, wondering where Anakin was going now and when he'd see him again. He had risked alot to help the jedi and to be with him, but yet he'd ended up with nothing but an aching heart. He'd been given some new hope from what Anakin had said earlier, about dating him, but it wasnt like he could wait a few years and then come back to see him, when he'd grown a bit. He couldnt wait that long. He wanted this now. He had come to the realization that there was probably nothing he could do and that all he had done so far had been for nothing. His heart was aching so terribly much now. Everything just seemed so hopeless...And he couldnt stay here. He didnt want to stay here. This wasnt where he belonged. But at the same time, he really didnt want to leave Anakin.

The three jedi watched them leave and Ahsoka's eyes traveled back and forth between Boba's retreating back and her master, before she worryingly asked:

"What happened to you? And who's Boba Fett?", she crossed her arms expectantly, but Anakin just shrugged.

"Hell if I know", he said and he let his eyes go to Boba for a moment, who was disappearing further and further away from them. He knew that the boy needed him. Needed to talk to him. Needed his help, but right now, there were things to be dealt with. He'd talk to Boba later...

"Anakin", Obiwan's voice made him snap out of his thoughts and return his gaze to his master instead, but the man's eyes was focused on the ship in the background. "You do realize that you have alot of explaining to do?"

"Yes, master", he took his first step in a row of many towards the entrance of the temple and the other two followed by his side, while R2 rolled after behind them. "I will tell you guys everything about it", he promised. Well, almost everything anyway...

"So", Obiwan started thoughtfully. "This ship...where did you get it?"

In a completely different place in the jedi temple, Boba strolled behind the two clone troopers, wondering if they werent there yet. This place was so big. He had to admit that it was a good looking place. With endless corridors, arched ceilings and the beautiful evening sunlight streaming in through the huge glass windows. They were passing quite many jedi on the way towards the medical center, but Boba was confident that there was no reason to feel nervous around them. As long as no one knew who he really was.

After some time of walking, the two guards stepped into an elevator and Boba followed quietly. He didnt move but attentively followed the men's every move with his eyes and one of them pushed the button to take them up to the fifth floor. He wondered slightly how many there were in this huge building.

"So we would have been dead by now if it wasnt for her. Which is pretty ironic since she saved us only to hand us over to Dooku", Anakin explained to Obiwan while the two were making their way to the 'apartment' they shared. "But we managed to get things under control", Anakin came to a stop behind Obiwan, and together with R2, he waited patiently for the man to unlock the door to their place.

"And well, here I am now", he added as an end to the story, and then pressed himself past Obiwan and into the apartment. He was exhausted and starving and his body was aching from the tiny wounds the leeches had caused him. He just wanted to get some food and rest. Not that he would be able to relax so easily after all that had happened, and as he was still worrying about this situation with Boba. Obiwan eventually caught up with him in the kitchen.

"And you dont know where she got this ship?" Anakin lowered his glass of water from his mouth a bit. Why was Obiwan nagging on him about the ship?

"I suppose it was hers?" he replied innocently. "Why is it important where she got it?" he started drinking again. As long as he was keeping his mouth busy, he'd have time to figure out good answers to Obiwan's interrogation. It was almost as if he knew something...

"I guess it doesnt matter", the older man said and walked over to the refrigerator to retrieve an already prepared sandwich but Anakin quickly reached past him and snatched it in front of his eyes.

"Sorry, master, but I'm sure I'm alot more hungry than you are", he gave Obiwan an excusing, yet mischievous look but didnt take any notice of the meaning look her received in return. He then walked away with quick steps, about to exit the kitchen when Obiwan addressed him again.

"I would very much like to talk to this young clone", he said and watched as Anakin stopped in the doorway to slowly turn and face him again.

"About what..?" he started to become more and more sure of that Obiwan suspected something. But what? Was there something he had revealed without realizing it? Hopefully not. He took a bite of the sandwich and chewed slowly, appearing totally indifferent.

"There are just a few questions I'd like to ask him", uh oh, bad idea. Anakin took a step towards him.

"There's no need to, master. I will do it later, ok?" he said seriously. He couldnt let him go down there and interrogate Boba. Obiwan gave him an understanding look.

"Alright, Anakin", he landed one hand on the young man's shoulder. "I'll let you handle it", he then turned and started looking around for something else to eat, since his food had been so rudely stolen from him. There was something about Obiwan's behavior that made Anakin nervous but he trusted that the man wouldnt go down there and talk to Boba now that he'd said he'd do it himself. So he made another attempt to leave the kitchen and soon found himself in his bedroom.

He closed the door before putting the glass and the sandwich down on his bedside table. It was with a sigh of relief that he sat on the soft bed and closed his eyes for a moment, but he forced one of them open as he heard the sound of rolling wheels and R2 came up to him from deeper into the room. Without a word, he started to remove his boots and gloves. They were so warm and uncomfortable at the moment. The little droid watched him for a while before letting out a series of beeping noises, and Anakin shook his head tiredly.

"Not now, R2. I'm not in the mood", he mumbled. He was tired, and still hungry. As he kept eating, his thoughts went to Boba and how he was doing now. There was so much they needed to talk about, and he didnt know what to do with anything. Letting himself fall back onto the soft covers of the bed, he gazed up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. The only thing that occupied his mind at the moment was the bounty hunter. But R2 was very persistent and wouldnt let him rest, so with deep sigh, Anakin pushed himself up to sit against his own will.

"Ok, ok. Will you let me sleep if I listen?" he sighed, assuming that it was a message of some sort. While waiting for R2 to show him whatever it was that was so important, he tiredly began to remove his robe, but stopped frozen when a tiny hologram suddenly popped up. It was one of Boba. A bit more alert now, Anakin moved over to the end of the bed to be able to see and hear better. Judging by the box that the hologram of Boba was sitting on, this must have been recorded back at the ship. His heart dropped at the words that the hologram spoke. About how they were going to die and stuff, but he comforted himself with the fact that they were both alright now. Even so, it hurt to see Boba like that.

"_Ever since my father died, I've hated all jedi..."_,said the hologram and it got Anakin thinking. Boba never told him how his father died, but it obviously had something to do with jedi. _"But Anakin...is different...I've never met anyone like him before...he's so nice..."_, he kept watching in silence, not really knowing how to react to what was said. This confession wasnt something new to him, but still, it warmed his heart and made it hurt at the same time. There was really something different about the way it was revealed now. He took it all in but the thing that touched him the most was how Boba said that he wished he could be with him always. The words were echoing in his head even after the hologram had disappeared. He must really love him to say something like that. It wasnt until a knock on the door made him snap out of his thoughts, that he realized he had a really miserable expression on his face. But pretending like nothing was wrong, he got up and opened the door for Obiwan.

"Anakin, I'm sorry to disturb you, but Windu called. He wants you to come with him and check what's left of Endurance", Anakin rubbed his sore neck and let out a groan. This wasnt what he'd had in mind when he came home. It had been two tough days already but he guessed he could put up with some more of it. It's just that he really needed to see Boba. But apparently that had to wait again.

It was after a long time of painful silence that Boba and the two guards finally reached the destination and he stepped inside the medical center. Before him was a long, hallway- like hospital ward. The light in there was pretty dim and the beds seemed almost empty except for a couple of wounded soldiers further down the room but he couldnt see any signs of life from them.

A woman suddenly appeared from a room nearby to greet them and from taking a quick look at her outfit, Boba assumed she was a nurse.

"Hey there", she said and then gave the two guards a nod as if saying that they could leave if they wanted to. "So, what's wrong with you?" she asked when the two men had turned and were already on their way back down the corridor. But she wasnt taking her eyes off the notepad in her hand. Boba stared at her for a while. He himself didnt really know the reason to this visit in the first place, since he was feeling perfectly fine, but since Anakin had wanted it, he supposed he could go. However, he was a bit hungry. He didnt know for how long he'd been unconscious but he was certainly in need of some food. He was almost to the point of feeling sick.

"Nothing, they sent me here for a check up", he replied and watched as she scribbled something down on a page on her notepad.

"I see", the nurse gave him a skeptical look. "No shot?" Boba was confused at first.

"What do you mean?" his eyes traveled to her notepad as if he could find the answers there, and then back to her as she gave him a surprised look.

"You really dont know, do you?" he shook his head hesitatingly. Was there some disease he should know about? It sounded a bit worrisome.

"Some..", she looked at Boba and stopped herself from referring to them as clones. "..soldiers arent growing like they should. So we have to give some of them a boost of growth acceleration once in a while", Boba stared at her, momentarily stunned. When realizing that his mouth was hanging slightly open, he quickly closed it.

"So, your name?"

"Uh...it's Lucky", he said, sounding slightly distracted. He couldnt take his mind off what she had just told him. Did this mean that there was a chance that he could get some of it? What if he could use it to grow a bit. It seemed like a possibility.

"There still has to be a reason for them to send you here", the nurse persisted while leading him towards one of the empty beds, gesturing for him to sit down. "As you can see, there is no general check up here today", Boba found himself under the expecting stare of this woman and realized he would have to tell her something.

"Uhm, I fainted..", it was true. But she was still staring at him in that expecting way. "Because of lack of air", he added quietly. "It was because-"

"It's alright", she interrupted him. "I dont need to know what you did all day", she explained kindly to him but looked more serious suddenly and approached him a little.

"Were you unconscious for long?" she asked. Boba had no good answer to that. He had no idea. He didnt even know what time it was when they left Endurance and how many hours they spent on that ship before they both passed out. Right when he was about to open his mouth to answer, a beeping sound interrupted him. It was the nurse's communicator and she brought it up from her pocket before looking up at Boba with a kind of excusing look on her face.

"I'm sorry. There's something I need to fix", she pushed the little device back into the pocket while speaking. "I'll be back in a moment. Dont go anywhere", she then hurried out of the room, leaving Boba with no chance to reply. He watched her go and when the footsteps faded, he was left there in dead silence. His thoughts immediately went to Anakin. It was hard to get him out of his mind.

Realizing that the nurse probably wouldnt come back in a while, Boba slipped off the bed and strolled deeper into the ward. It was so quiet. Was there really no one else here? He couldnt help but throw glances at the two seemingly unconscious men as he passed their beds. They looked so much like Jango. All the clones looked like Jango. It was always hard whenever he saw one of them, but he had learned to deal with it.

He eventually reached the end of the corridor, but the door was locked. Maybe there was just another ward on the other side. He needed to find out where they kept that growth acceleration and there was nothing else on his mind as he desperately kept searching the place. When he came back to the entrance there were one room on each side of him. One was the room that the nurse had come from and the other one...He took a step towards it but immediately froze at the sound of voices approaching. He would have to pass the open door to the entrance in order to get there. Quickly, he turned and sneaked back and entered the nurse- room, coming to hide right inside the door. The voices belonged to two men who seemed to be in a heated discussion about some medical supplies.

Boba's heart was pounding hard where he was standing pressed against the wall, hoping that none of them would come this way. Then he'd probably be in deep shit. He was listening as the voices finally began to fade again, but there was something else that had caught his attention. At the opposite wall was a chart of the different stages in the growing process of the clone soldiers. Curiously, he pushed away from the wall and with one last glance back at the door, he stepped forward to take a closer look at the poster. It seemed that you normally gained four years at the time. He could hardly beleive what he was seeing. It meant that there was still hope for him. He could make Anakin like him by taking these shots... In silence, he made a mental calculation. One just wouldnt be enough. So what if he took two of them. Would that make him nineteen? He curiously wondered how old Anakin was...Well, it didnt matter at the moment. Instead, he lowered his eyes to the archives underneath the chart, and holding his breath, he pulled out one of the drawers. The sight that met him made his stomach twist, but he still beheld the syringe for a while. This was it. It was now or never. No time to think it over or change his mind. This was the only way and the only thing he could do to get what he wanted.

With a pounding heart and slightly trembling hand, he brought it up and threw a glance at the door again. He hadnt heard a sound so far, so there was probably no one out there at the moment. Pulling another drawer out, he grabbed a second syringe and retreated to the corner where he studied both of them with disgust. The thought of pushing these needles in under his skin made him feel sick but what choice did he have? If he didnt do it, then all his efforts up til now had been for nothing. He wanted Anakin so badly, so he couldnt just give up. And he had nothing to lose anyway. Pulling his sleeve up, he carefully removed the plastic cover that protected the needle and then let some of the liquid spurt out of the syringe. Just in case there was still some air in it. The longer he stared at it, the more nervous he got so before he could change his mind, he lowered it to his arm, letting the sharp needle hover mere millimeters over the skin. He clenched his teeth together, thinking of how he was doing this for Anakin.

When the needle pierced his skin, his whole body stiffened and it took all of his strength not to pull it out again, despite the burning pain it caused. Instead, he took a deep breath and pushed it in further, ignoring the feeling of nausea that entered him. It seemed the most painful part was over now. At least he couldnt feel the liquid entering his body. A little relieved and also a bit proud that he had made it, he carefully pulled the needle out again and proceeded with using the second syringe of growth acceleration as well. With his beloved Anakin in mind, he once again let a painful needle enter him.

Far away in the outer rim, Anakin was following Windu's starfighter over the desolated, grey dunes of Vanqor. The planet on which Endurance had supposedly crashed. He doubted there would be any survivors but it was important that they checked anyway. But so far they hadnt seen anything out of place. Everything was as deserted and quiet as ever out there, not even R2 in the back of his starfighter was especially chattery tonight. The silence allowed him to do alot of thinking though and his mind kept returning to Boba. This wasnt the most suitable time for him to leave the boy alone at the temple, but he knew that he would still be there when he returned and that calmed him enough to concentrate on the mission at hand. What he didnt know was that Boba was currently in painful spasms on the floor, as his body was reacting to the fatal overdose of growth acceleration he had just received..

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**Dun dun duuun. Admit it, you didnt see that coming :P  
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	9. Chapter 9

**nat13cat: It's ok ^^ I'm glad you're still following it. About Anakin****..to be honest, I havent thought much about it. But since I havent mentioned anything about his sexuality, it's up to everyone's imagination**

**Mantineus: Indeed x)**

**Skywalker02: Yep. But hopefully he wont die. Hopefully...**

**I'm so sorry that I kept you all waiting! But the good thing is that this chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones at least  


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Hours later, in the middle of the night to be exact, when Anakin finally stepped over the threshold to his home, Obiwan's voice reached him from deeper into the apartment.

"Anakin? Is that you?" Anakin sighed at this and let R2 roll past him before closing the door behind them.

"No, it's an intruder", he replied sarcastically and started kicking his boot against the wall in a try to get all the dirt off. They were both practically grey from all the dust he'd been walking around in on Vanqor. He was starting to regret the rude answer but he was so tired and not in the best mood for stupid questions.

"How did it go?" came Obiwan's voice again, closer this time and Anakin stopped what he was doing to face him.

"Well..", he started. "The admiral is alive, and pretty ok for having survived that crash. We also found four troopers...but two of them were dead..", he leaned over to rest his tired body against the wall, seeing how this was developing into a conversation and he could as well make it was comfortable as possible for himself.

"That's mostly good news I guess", the older jedi replied.

"Yeah, but the strange thing is that they were both dead before the ship crashed..", Obiwan looked slightly concerned at this and he thoughtfully scratched at his beard.

"Hm, yes...", his eyes got a more serious look to them as he focused them on Anakin again. "This reminds me...There was an accident down at the medical center earlier..", he announced, studying the younger jedi for some kind of a reaction. And as suspected, Anakin did look a little surprised and his expression slowly changed into a concerned one.

"What kind of accident?" he pushed himself off the wall, a little more alert now. Could there have been a fire maybe? Or what was going on? Boba came to his mind of course. It was his biggest concern at the moment. But he wasnt given anymore time to think before his question was answered.

"Remember the cadet you brought here yesterday?" Obiwan asked and Anakin's whole body stiffened. Oh no...not that...He struggled to keep a cool facade, despite his inner chaos. He couldnt even start to imagine what had happened. But he immediately regretted going away for so many hours. Suddenly, Obiwan's voice interrupted his thinking again.

"Anakin?"

"Yes..?" he stared expectantly at his friend, slowly recovering from the stunned state that he was in. A second later, he realized what Obiwan meant. "Yes, I remember", he swallowed, feeling how time was passing by at a painfully slow rate as he awaited yet another answer.

"Are you alright?" Obiwan wondered and Anakin felt like he would go crazy if he didnt find out what was going on soon. He wanted to just grab Obiwan's arms and shake the answer out of him, but instead, he replied with a calm voice.

"I'm fine. Just tell me what's going on", he tried not to sound desperate but it was extremely hard to keep his emotions under control at this point. Obiwan gave him a slightly skeptical look before deciding to finally continue and Anakin's heart seemed to beat faster and faster for every word that he heard.

"Well, your little friend took the liberty to experiment with growth acceleration", Obiwan explained carefully, seeing how the younger jedi had reacted to his previous words. "They told me he had taken an overdose", the shock of these news hindered Anakin from forming a proper sentence or even uttering a word as a reply. But he didnt need to ask any more questions. It was obvious to him what Boba had tried to do and why. And there was only one person to blame for it. He could hardly remember the last time he had felt such guilt. He had rejected Boba and denied him a relationship. He had brought up more than one reason, but he specifically remembered them talking about his age. And now Boba was hurt because of him. Forcing himself to push all those thoughts aside for now, he addressed Obiwan again.

"..Is he..?" he managed to get out in a weak voice, afraid of the answer. But the older jedi just gave him a questioning look.

"Is he what?" Obiwan wondered, quite honestly, but it wasnt the answer Anakin had been waiting for. He felt frustration and anger welling up inside him, unable to keep up the calm, unbothered facade anymore.

"Damnit, Obiwan! Is he alive?" he found himself practically yelling at the other man. But he didnt care if he did, because all that mattered was to know if Boba was alright. There was a horrible pain gripping his heart as Obiwan opened his mouth again, seemingly a little surprised by the outburst.

"He's being treated at the intensive care unit. That's all I know", Anakin didnt take any time to thank Obiwan for the information, but turned and left through the door again, speeding up a little for every step that he took and he soon found himself running. He could hear Obiwan calling after him but ignored it.

During the elevator ride down to the fifth floor, all he could think of was how stupid he'd been. He was angry with himself for having left Boba alone. He should have been there with him. If he had, this would have never happened. But he couldnt ignore the fact that his missions were always first priority.

Waiting in there felt like an eternity and his heart was beating hard in pain, wishing nothing more than to be there with Boba, hoping for nothing more than for him to be alright. While running the back of his hand over his sweaty forehead, his eyes moved to the buttons panel. There were still a few floors to go. So very frustrating. It was almost driving him insane with worry and longing. ...Longing...So this meant that he was inlove? He couldnt deny that he was indeed feeling something, but he wasnt trying to either. A strange sensation overcame him at this realization, making him feel good, but at the same time it was saddening to remember that he was in fact a jedi. And a jedi wasnt allowed to love.

The elevator doors opened suddenly and his eyes traveled down the long, empty corridor before him before taking his first hesitating step out of the elevator. Everything was dark and silent. Not one single person could be spotted anywhere. But then again, it was still the middle of the night and many people were asleep. Far away at the end of the hallway, the sign above the medical center door was giving off a dim red light and Anakin had seen it many times before, but this was the first time he was looking at it with anxiety and fear. But he couldnt let his feelings stop him now, so with practiced ease, he pushed his fears aside for now and took a strong step forward, quickening his pace as he walked.

The place looked almost abandoned when he stepped over the threshold to the first room, but he didnt need any help to find the intensive care unit where Obiwan had claimed that they were treating Boba. He knew his way around perfectly well. Ward after ward was passed in dead silence until he finally reached his destination, where a couple of nurses seemed to be taking care of someone further down the room. It wasnt possible to see who it was though, because of the curtain hindering his view. His heart was starting an attempt to pound its way out of his chest as he moved closer to the this specific bed and he didnt even dare to let out the breath he had inhaled seconds ago. Slowly, slowly, he neared the two nurses, walking up behind them silently. He wasnt sure if he should feel relieved or not about the fact that it was a wounded clone trooper laying there before him and not Boba. But at least he allowed himself to exhale again.

"Excuse me", he addressed the closest nurse and waited for her to turn around and face him before he continued. "I'm looking for a cadet. His name is Lucky", at least that's what he assumed that Boba had said if anyone had asked. The woman looked thoughtful at first, but soon gestured for Anakin to follow her further down the ward. His heart began to pound in that uncomfortable way again.

"I'm afraid he wont be much of a company", she spoke suddenly, but Anakin didnt have a chance to ask what she meant before she continued. "He's not conscious at the moment, but we have stabilized his condition", a worried frown appeared on Anakin's face at this. So far, no one had let him know what effects the growth acceleration had to Boba and he was anxious to find out.

"...But he's ok, right?" he asked hesitatingly. Most of the beds they were passing were occupied by wounded soldiers and even a jedi here and there. He really didnt want to see Boba like that...

"He will be fine", the nurse replied while leading him around a corner and into a new ward that wasnt as crowded as the previous ones. It was almost the opposite. Very still and quiet. "I'm just surprised that his injuries arent worse due to what happened to him", she added, but Anakin didnt reply. All his attention was focused on trying to spot Boba somewhere in the room but all the beds were shielded by curtains and he nervously kept following the woman down the hallway. All the way to the end of it. So they had finally reached the right bed. His heart was beating out of control as they walked up to the one to their left and his whole body tensed and froze at the sight that met him.

What he was looking down at was a handsome young man. It was in stunned silence that he studied him. At first, he couldnt really get it into his head that this really was Boba, but he did recognize him. Those bangs and his face. However, his features had a stronger look to them now. His jaw was broader and his eyebrows were slightly thicker, but then he couldnt see much of his lower face due to the breathing mask covering his mouth. It made Anakin's stomach twist terribly and he felt sick at the sight of the bandages that were wrapped around Boba's left arm and most of his chest. But in between the sorrow and pain he was feeling, something else awakened deep inside him. A feeling of desire so strong that he felt like his chest could explode any minute. He didnt think that Boba could look any more beautiful than he'd already done, but apparently he was wrong. He couldnt deny that he was very attracted to the boy's new, masculine looks. Even so, he would have never wished for him to risk his life like this. Not for him. Not for anyone. When the nurse interrupted his deep thoughts suddenly, he realized that he had almost forgotten she was there.

"The bones in his arm are broken. And a couple of ribs as well", she informed. "His body was forced to grow at an unnatural pace, but luckily there seems to be no brain damages according to some tests that we ran earlier", Anakin just nodded at this, without taking his eyes off Boba. He didnt dare to open his mouth and reply, afraid that his voice would betray him.

"That name of his really suits him, you know", she was referring to his luck of course. Having cheated death or at least some serious injury. A bitter smile appeared on Anakin's tired face and he finally teared his eyes off Boba to glance at the nurse.

"Yeah...listen..Would you leave us alone for a moment?" the woman looked like if she had just realized that she was a third wheel and nodded quickly to confirm Anakin's request.

"Of course, sir", she almost seemed a little embarrassed when she turned to leave but Anakin didnt spend any time thinking about it. Instead, he turned all of his attention back to Boba as soon as they were alone. Yet another minute passed by where he was just staring, before he decided to get a chair and sit by the bed for a moment. He knew that that moment would eventually turn into hours as he couldnt see himself leaving Boba. He needed to be there for him, no matter what.

With his elbows resting on the edge of the bed, he buried his face in his hands and let out a long frustrated sigh. He couldnt believe this. All the strange things that had been going on for the last couple of days, but most of all he couldnt believe that Boba had done this to himself. There were alot of mixed emotions going through him at the moment, but the strongest one had to be guilt. It was all his fault that Boba was hurt. All he had wanted was his love and he had rejected him instantly. A poor, lonely boy who had no one... But it was also admirable. The risks that Boba had taken in order to help him and to earn his love. Very flattering.

Anakin peeked out at him in between his fingers before removing his hands from his face. His eyes went to the iv needle buried in Boba's hand and swallowed in an attempt to push back the feeling of tears that wanted to force their way out of him. Slowly, carefully, he reached out and grabbed the hand in his own. It was lifeless and cold, even against his clothed ones. When he gently stroked his thumb over the back of Boba's hand, as if it was a fragile little bird, his eyes moved to the bounty hunter's face and it was almost with a little anger that he spoke to him.

"Why..? Why would you do such a stupid thing?" he didnt expect any reply of course, but this was almost easier than if Boba had been awake. "I tried to protect you..", he muttered and lowered his eyes to their hands again. "And then you go and do something like this...", he looked Boba over properly now. His broad shoulders and chest. He had certainly become a beautiful young man. But he still had that cuteness to his face.

"I wish I could turn back time", he muttered again, mostly to himself since no one was there to listen to him. "I never got to tell you...", he started with regret clear in his voice and a slight frown appeared on his tired face. In silence, a bit absentmindedly, he stroked at Boba's fingers, one by one. He then let his own fingers slip in between Boba's carefully. They were a bit warmer now. "I never got to tell you how I feel..." he finished.

A loud noise further down the corridor made him suddenly become aware of the world around them. He was so tired. So exhausted. But he couldnt get himself to leave Boba. At least not yet. Right now, he couldnt care less about jedi rules or his love interest's allegiance. When he thought about it, him and Boba were very much the same. In some ways. They had both lost their only parent and they were both holding much pain inside them. It comforted Anakin to know that he wasnt alone.

He got a very tempting idea suddenly and turned his head to throw a glance out over the rest of the place before turning back to Boba. Just to make sure that no one was around. He then proceeded with removing the glove from his healthy arm and as he slowly reached the hand towards Boba's face, his heart rate began to increase rapidly. He recalled having touched him before, but never without gloves, and never in this way. The incredibly warming feeling that coursed through him the second his fingertips finally came in contact with Boba's soft cheek was stronger than he ever would have thought. The emotional over flood almost made him dizzy but he curiously continued to caress the smooth skin, completely absorbed by the cute man that it belonged to. He then let it travel further down to pull his fingers through the soft hair on Boba's neck.

His eyelids were slowly beginning to close suddenly and he realized that he was having a hard time trying to stay awake anymore. Maybe he could just rest his eyes for a little while. Here with Boba. Just a for a moment...While he allowed them to close, his upper body slowly leaned down until he was able to rest his head and arms on the bed next to Boba. So soft and warm and inviting. Eventually, he fell asleep.

Hours later, another presence came to join them but Anakin wasnt aware of it since he was deep into the land of dreams. The person studied the two boys with a slight curiosity. Anakin's hand was still holding Boba's in a secure grip as if someone would maybe come and try to break them apart an the other hand and arm were used as a pillow, tucked in under his cheek. It was a concerning sight, yet interesting. The person had decided to take a few steps closer and a hand landed on the sleeping jedi's shoulder.

"Anakin?" the hand shook him a little. "Anakin?" Slowly, the eyes fluttered open and a deep sigh escaped the waking jedi, but he didnt move at first. Only his eyes as they landed on the source of what had disturbed his sleep.

"Obiwan?" Anakin was confused at first but soon remembered where he was and he pushed away from the bed.

"Good morning", Obiwan greeted him and crossed his arms expectantly as his friend turned around to face him, but he was too tired to leave his place on the chair.

"What are you doing here?" Anakin wondered, wide awake suddenly. For how long had he been asleep? Was it really morning already?

"I could ask you the same thing", he countered with and threw a glance at Boba on the bed. The boy was still unconscious. Anakin lowered his eyes a bit, trying to think of a good explanation to be hanging out with a random clone trooper at the medical center, when he should have perhaps been doing other things. Well, this was embarrassing... However, before Anakin was able to come up with a good answer, Obiwan surprised him and gave him a minor shock.

"How is Boba doing?" he asked simply and Anakin just stared at him with widened eyes. At the realization that his chin was slowly dropping, he quickly closed his mouth again. What? What the hell? How did he know?

"...How did you know?" he spoke his thoughts, still shocked. And a bit surprised to see a small smile on Obiwan's face.

"I just put two and two together", he explained. "I know that ship belonged to Jango Fett and since our new prisoner insisted that this boy was Boba, I came to the conclusion that he was", their eyes met in silence for a long moment where Anakin didnt really know what to say or do. So Obiwan took the liberty to continue, but a little more serious this time.

"The ship also contained things that belonged to Jango, and I assume that Boba would be in possession of them now", he bored his eyes deep into Anakin's then. "But the big question is, why did you defend him?" Anakin knew a question like this would eventually come and he adapted a look of guilt at first, but his face soon changed into a more severe expression.

"It's a long story..", he said finally. It actually was but it wasnt an excuse not to tell the truth.

"I've got time to listen", Obiwan persisted. He wasnt going to let Anakin get away with this so easily. It was a serious matter. There was a bounty hunter in their base and Anakin was hiding his identity.

"I cant tell you", Anakin sighed and pulled a hand through his hair in frustration. Obiwan watched him, a little frustrated too. It was obvious that Anakin was caring for this boy in a way that he shouldnt.

"Not only are your feelings for this boy hindering your performance as a jedi, but he's also a bounty hunter", he scolded. His patience was beginning to run low now. "He's an enemy, Anakin", the look he received from the younger jedi then wasnt a pretty one.

"He's helped me. And he risked alot to do so", Anakin defended himself and a blush appeared on his face. Both from anger and from what the man had stated. "He's not my enemy." Obiwan let out a heavy sigh. Anakin was always so stubborn.

"Look..", he started a little more carefully this time, not wanting to aggravate Anakin even more. "There's nothing we can do about the situation at the moment. So I suggest that you go home and get some rest and some food, alright?" Anakin didnt answer right away but his eyes showed less anger than before. But he was still mad. Making a silent decision, he turned back to the bed and grabbed Boba's hand again in both of his. It seemed almost as if he was ignoring Obiwan at first.

"I'm staying here", he said with an emphasis that made clear that he didnt want to discuss it any further.

"Dont be stupid", Obiwan had hoped that the younger jedi would look up to meet his eyes again but he only seemed interested in Boba's hand.

"It's my fault that he's here", Anakin mumbled in return.

"You werent even here when it happened", Obiwan replied, a little confused at why he was blaming himself for the accident.

"But he did it because of me...", came a quiet reply. Anakin's voice seemed lower for every time that he spoke. "So that I would like him..", nothing more was said as he thought it explained it all and he closed his eyes again.

"I understand", Obiwan let out a defeated sigh. He couldnt help but wonder what had happened the last two days. Anakin had given him a pretty good summary of what they had been up to but he never told him anything about this. It was understandable he supposed. The idea of leaving came to him. It wasnt possible to try to reason with Anakin at the time anyway.

"Anakin?" he addressed him again. The younger jedi didnt turn to him or open his eyes but Obiwan knew that he was listening. "I suggest that you think this over carefully", Anakin didnt bother to reply, simply because he didnt want to. But he had a feeling that Obiwan wasnt expecting him to either. It wasnt until the sound of fading footsteps was almost gone that he opened his eyes again and they soon found Boba.

"Please come back to me", he begged quietly. "I dont want to lose you too..."

Time passed. Hours passed. The whole day passed before Boba finally awoke and had recovered enough to not be in need of any iv drip or breathing masks and Anakin hadnt missed a thing. He had been there all this time. Watching nervously as the nurses had treated Boba. It was painful to see how weak and numb he was. Just lying there, unmoving. And it was painful that he couldnt do anything to help. But when the nurses were finally done, Boba had fallen asleep and so, Anakin was yet again forced to wait. He did however manage to get the permission to move him up to the apartment. It hadnt been easy to convince any of the nurses. They were stubborn women. But in the end, he had succeeded, only after having promised them to look after him properly. All Boba needed now was rest really and Anakin was certain it was something he could do in his bed. It was probably more comfortable than any hospital beds anyway.

* * *

Boba's eyes opened slowly, but the bright light forced him to close them again. After having regained some new strength, he made a new attempt to open them. The room wasnt very light really. All lamps seemed turned off, but there was something telling him that it was either day or morning. The second thing that he took notice of was how his body was aching all over. It wasnt an unbearable pain but it still hurt a little bit. Blinking a few times, he came to focus his eyes on the white ceiling above and started wondering where they had taken him now. The last time he was awake was at the hospital. That's pretty much all he remembered from then. He also remembered taking those shots and the sudden pain it had caused him. He knew then that something was seriously wrong but he had no idea of what had happened after that. Only that he passed out. Actually...he did think he spotted Anakin once, but it was probably just his imagination.

Letting go of those thoughts for now, he concentrated on trying to figure out where he was instead. It looked like someone's bedroom. A wardrobe was positioned against the wall further down the room and some clothes were lying on the floor, close to the bed. What was he doing in someone's bedroom..? The covers slipped off his upper body as he started pushing himself up into a sitting position. What he hadnt expected was a searing pain suddenly spreading throughout his left arm and he noticed the bandages it was wrapped in. What the hell happened to him? He froze then as he sat up. His hands...they looked strange...These werent his hands...Shocked at the different look of both them and his arms, he dared to peek in under the covers and take a look at the rest of his body. Even though he was wearing pants, he could see that his legs and stomach did look different...more..masculine...With widened eyes, he stared at his hands again, turning them over and back again. Damn..it worked.

With his heart pounding hard inside his chest, he looked around the room in a desperate need for a mirror. But he didnt need to search for very long because one was hanging on the opposite wall. Despite being tired and weak, Boba stubbornly slipped off the bed and placed his feet on the surprisingly warm floor. Then with slightly unsteady steps, he moved across the room. But once he got used to it, he managed to walk properly again and he stopped close to the full size mirror, studying himself in wonder. It felt strange to be taller and he didnt really recognize his body. But he did recognize his face, except for the tiny details like his thicker eyebrows or stronger bone structure. He still thought he looked too cute though, but this would have to do.

There was something emotional coming over him so suddenly. Everything was so different. In only two days, his life had changed in so many ways. Both for the better and for the worse. But mostly for the better he decided. What bothered him the most was probably what he had done wrong to end up in the hospital...and then where Anakin could be...He got nervous at this thought, wondering what he would think of his new looks. A creaking sound reached his ears suddenly and he automatically turned his head to the closed door. Whoever made that noise could be on their way into this room at this very moment. Panicking, Boba quickly but quietly made his way back towards the bed, but was stopped when tripping over a pile of clothes on the floor. He would have ignored it and gone for the bed if it wasnt for a certain piece of blue fabric that caught his eye. While crouching carefully to look it over, he realized that he recognized it. It was the robe that belonged to Anakin, he was sure of it. Against his will, his cheeks turned red when realizing that this was probably the jedi's bedroom. It was heartwarming to know that he still seemed to care.

Anakin was bitterly staring out the window by the kitchen table. He hadnt gotten much sleep this night either, but alot more than the last one anyway. It had been hard to sleep when he didnt want to take his eyes off Boba. He had after all promised to watch over him until he was fully recovered, but even Anakin needed sleep once in a while. Slowly, his hand was limply grasping around the cup on the table. Its contents had gone cold some time ago but he didnt really care. All he cared about was for Boba to recover. Not even the beautiful sunrise impressed him very much today. He was mostly annoyed by it's blinding light. But a tiny bit of excitement entered him though, at the thought of having a cute guy in his bed.

"Anakin?" Obiwan's voice reached him from someplace else in the apartment and he tiredly got off the chair to meet his friend by the front door.

"Yes?" he yawned and leaned against the wall, watching as Obiwan was putting his robe and boots on.

"Are you really sure you're not coming?" the older jedi asked in that tone of voice that Anakin knew so well. Obiwan had given up his attempt at convincing Anakin that it was a bad idea to stay at home when you had more important things to do, but still didnt really want to let it go.

"I'm sure, Obiwan", he said for probably the fourth time this morning.

"This is important, Anakin."

"Boba is important", he persisted and the conversation was over as he turned and left for the kitchen again. He could hear the front door closing and decided to put the cup of cold tea away so that he could go and check on Boba again.

While standing slowly, Boba let the robe fall back onto the floor and his eyes went to the door again. No one had come in and he hadnt heard anything more from the other side either. There was a slight desire to go back and study himself in the mirror again, and so he gave into it. As soon as he found himself in front of it again, a thought popped into his mind. It was stupid, but he really wondered...He really wanted to know...Carefully, he lowered his hands to the pants he was wearing and curiously peeked down inside them. Yep...it was indeed bigger, he noted.

"Excuse me", Boba immediately let go of the fabric and spun around at the sound of Anakin's voice. The jedi had an amused grin plastered on his face as he watched the color of Boba's face changing into a deep shade of red. But the smile faded slowly as he stepped closer to the embarrassed bounty hunter.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, not really knowing what else to say. He was still overwhelmed by Boba's transformation and there were so many questions he wanted to ask. And so many mixed feelings. As he waited for an answer, he couldnt help but stare at what the boy had become. So gorgeous.

"I'm ok..", Boba replied quietly. He wondered nervously what Anakin thought of him now. If he liked how he looked. Or if he would be interested in him now...His body was still aching and he felt tired. It got him thinking of why he had ended up like this. What had gone wrong.

"What happened..?" he asked bluntly then as the jedi didnt seem like he had anything else to say. With a deep sigh, Anakin brought one hand up to rub at his neck thoughtfully.

"Well...they said you took an overdose", he said seriously. "of growth acceleration", he added. "You obviously broke a few bones in the process too", Boba looked thoughtful at this, but not especially concerned. "You're lucky to be alive", a silent, awkward moment passed between them and Boba had to admit that it had been a stupid idea, but he didnt regret anything. He would have done it even if he had known the risks. He would have done anything for Anakin.

Silently, he approached the jedi a bit, but still staying at a normal conversation distance.

"So...what do you think?" Boba asked with a little more confidence and he managed a small smile. But Anakin's face was the total opposite. There was a serious and all but happy expression on his face.

"I think it was a stupid idea", he scolded angrily and Boba looked surprised at first, but then a little angry too. He knew it had been stupid of him, but couldnt Anakin see that he had done it for him?

"I did it for you", he growled, hurt by the jedi's words. His heart was aching with pain again. He had really thought that Anakin would like him now, but he guessed he was wrong.

"You could have died!" Anakin exclaimed, a little more angry than he would have wanted to, but he couldnt help it. He had spent hours fearing that Boba wouldnt be alright again. That he would never be able to talk to him again. Still in a heated mood, he waited for the bounty hunter to confront him with something but he didnt. He just looked hurt and disappointed.

"Fine..", Boba said, trying to hide the sorrow he was feeling throughout his whole being. He had done so much for this jedi and still he didnt seem to give a damn. "I wasnt going to stay anyway", this place was stupid. He would never want to be a jedi or one of their brainwashed soldiers. Without another word, Boba walked past Anakin and out the door and he could hear the jedi following him immediately.

"Where do you think you're going?" Anakin demanded but stopped out in the hallway while Boba continued up to the front door.

"Out of here", he growled in return and placed his trembling hand on the cold doorknob but right as he did, Anakin protested.

"You cant do that", he replied with emphasis. Even more anger welled up inside Boba at this, but fear as well. Wouldnt the jedi let him leave? Maybe he had changed his mind and wanted to throw him into their prison after all.

"Why not?" he dared to counter with, but kept his eyes on the door in front of him still. There was a painfully long moment of silence before Anakin's voice filled the room again.

"Because I love you", he said boldly. If this announcement had been hard for him to make, it didnt show in his features as Boba slowly turned to face him. Only determination and confidence. The shock of hearing those words stunned Boba momentarily. How could this be? All Anakin had done was to yell at him and telling him how stupid he had been. Not knowing what to say, he kept staring with slightly widened eyes and still trying to process what Anakin had just said. He could hardly believe it.

Silently, Anakin took a slow step closer, before confidently walking all the way up to Boba. He then carefully wrapped his arms around the shorter man's waist, gently but firmly pulling him closer. And without any hesitation whatsoever, he pushed his lips hard against his. A new wave of shock washed over Boba at this unexpected move, but also happiness and a warmth. This was what he had yearned for for so long and the sensation that it caused was so overwhelming that his legs almost gave away under him and his heart was pounding so fast inside his chest. When he felt Anakin's soft, moisty lips moving more gently against his mouth, he closed his eyes and started kissing him back eagerly. It was the most wonderful experience he had ever had and he never wanted to stop. Carefully, he moved his good arm up to wrap it around Anakin's neck and to bury his fingers in that soft, silky hair, gently tugging at it.

Anakin hardly gave himself any time to breathe in between the kisses. It was too good to slow down or to stop. Boba's mouth was so wet and sweet and he couldnt help but moan when he felt the tip of his tongue slipping in between his lips. However wonderful it was, he eventually had to force himself to pull away, feeling too out of breath to continue. They both blushed when their eyes met and a slight panting filled the air for the following seconds. Still very close, with their arms wrapped securely around each other's bodies, Anakin pierced Boba's eyes with his and they adapted a slight sadness to them.

"I thought I was going to lose you", he spoke softly and Boba lowered his eyes in shame. He hadnt realized how much pain he had caused Anakin or how much the jedi actually had cared for him. Then Anakin must have liked him after all.

"I'm sorry..", he said honestly while looking up to meet the concerned eyes before him. It hadnt been his intention to make this lovely man suffer.

"I know", Anakin brought one hand up to stroke some hair out of Boba's face and then down his neck, letting it stay there as he put his forehead against his. "I was watching over you at the medical center", he admitted quietly. "I couldnt leave you.." Boba was deeply flattered and a little surprised by these words. He never thought anyone could care for him as much as his father had done. The pain of his loss was of course making itself reminded again but he was finding enough comfort in Anakin to push it away for now.

They both closed their eyes again, just enjoying the moment. It was as if time had stopped and they didnt have a care in the world. Carefully, Boba moved his nose up to brush it against Anakin's, and the jedi responded by giving Boba's cheek a kiss, followed by many more. Never had he felt such desire in his life before. He felt like if his chest could burst from all the love that Anakin gave him and even though his heart was pounding so hard, it couldnt over-shine the wonderful sensation of his strong arms holding him close.

"I love you", he breathed with a shaky voice and his face adapted what could be mistaken for a sorrowful expression, but he was truly happy. Anakin was finally his and it was with him that he belonged. No matter what. Slowly, he turned his head to meet the jedi's lips with his and they once again engaged in a heated kiss.

* * *

**Finally**** they're together! Very satisfying. And they lived happily ever after...Sadly, this is where I'm going to end the story. I'm very very sad because I love this fanfic so much and I loved writing it. I enjoyed writing this more than any other fanfics, partly because it feels more canon, cause I based it on an actual episode from the show. And also because you guys supported me and followed the story all this time ^^ Thanks alot for that. It's really appreciated. I'm thinking of continuing 'forbidden love' or maybe write a new fanfic. Maybe even doing a sequel for this one...I do have a plot that could work...**


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